Not relishing inflation Here s why your Chicago-style hot dog is so expensive HEAD TOPICS
Not relishing inflation Here s why your Chicago-style hot dog is so expensive
10/21/2022 1:05:00 PM Not relishing inflation Here s why your Chicago-style hot dog is so expensive
Source Chicago Breaking News
Not relishing inflation Here s why your Chicago-style hot dog is so expensive From higher prices for sport peppers to frankfurters, expenses are up at hot dog stands across Chicago. The menu board reflects the current prices at The Wiener’s Circle.Costs are up across the board, said Rick Novak, the restaurant’s accountant.But tomatoes are up a whopping 94%, from less than a dollar per pound a year ago to $1.75, Novak said.(Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) per invoice, Novak said, or higher labor costs. The restaurant increased wages when the Cook County minimum wage went up in July, to $15.40 per hour; Won said the restaurant pays slightly above minimum wage, on average. The Wiener’s Circle is also contending with increased costs due to its expansion; it reopened last October after a monthslong closure for renovation. Read more:
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Silver Peak has gained newfound attention in recent years as the energy and transportation sectors race to wean themselves off climate-warming fossil fuels. Read more >> Avant-garde journalism... Chicago-Style Italian Beef SandwichesChicago may be known for hot dogs and deep dish pizza, but the Windy City's Italian beef sandwich is a delicious, messy, tasty favorite. Seems to be missing a sweet version, maybe cherry peppers Dollar gains with Treasury yields, sterling tumbles on hot inflation By Reuters*U.S. DOLLAR JUMPS AS TREASURY YIELDS SOAR TO 14-YEAR HIGHS - $USD 🇺🇸🇺🇸 mohsin2908 kindly note This guy must be enjoying this year 2022 The rise is minimal Dog Haus celebrates its 12th anniversary with free hot dogsToday only Dog Haus is celebrating its birthday by giving away free hot dogs! Afternoon Briefing: Chicago alderman accidentally shoots himself in the wristGood afternoon, Chicago. Here's what is happening today. - Chicago alderman accidentally shoots himself in the wrist - Zach LaVine to miss Bulls season opener tonight - Flat & Point becomes Dorothy’s Bistro The first one has to be a euphemism for something else, right? Afternoon Briefing: Wrigleyville crime continuesGood afternoon, Chicago. Here's what is happening today. - Wrigleyville crime continues - Seven Chicago-area residents face fraud charges - Nine new restaurants around Chicago aggressively in a bid to tamp inflation down, though economists warn hiking rates too high could tip the U.Skip the airfare and slow-cook your way right at home to this Windy City original..The popular biergarten, Dog Haus , is celebrating its 12th birthday on Thursday by offering free Haus Dogs at city-wide locations. S. into a recession and lead to even more economic pain.” Our adaptation of the family recipe calls for sirloin, thinly sliced in advance by your butcher, then quickly poached in an aromatic broth. Advertisement Food prices in particular have skyrocketed, and the humble hot dog is no exception. The menu board reflects the current prices at The Wiener’s Circle." Yield: makes 4 sandwiches Time: 1 hours IngredientsInstructionsIssue 201MediumRecipessandwichSaveur 100Saveur 100 2020MORE TO READ Related Easy Apple TartletsImpress your guests this season with these quick, flaky pastries. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) At The Wiener’s Circle in Lincoln Park, a Chicago dog costs $6 now, up from $5 the same time last year. Here the Chicago classic is called a char dog because it comes charred off the grill, and tax is included. Related 21 Soups and Stews Worth Breaking Out the Cauldron ForBecause nothing says autumn like a pot bubbling on the stove. But despite the 20% hot dog upcharge, margins are down at The Wiener’s Circle, a neighborhood institution since 1983. “Our restaurant is modestly profitable right now, but not wildly so,” co-owner Tim Won said in an interview with the Tribune. Costs are up across the board, said Rick Novak, the restaurant’s accountant. The price of a case of 80 hot dogs from Vienna Beef has increased only 3% over the last year, Novak reported. (The supplier won’t share information about pricing, or how it’s kept the cost of encased beef from rising too high.) But tomatoes are up a whopping 94%, from less than a dollar per pound a year ago to $1.75, Novak said. A gallon of green relish costs just over $8 now, a 23% increase over last year’s price of $6.54. A case of poppy-seed buns is up 10%. A bag of white onions costs only a dollar more than it did last fall, or 4%, but sport peppers are up 21%. And a single pickle spear laid elegantly across charred Vienna Beef costs about a penny more now than it did in 2021, per Novak’s rough estimate, at an increase of 11%. The Wiener's Circle char dog is prepared with green relish and other ingredients. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Those price increases don’t account for the fuel surcharge the various vendors of The Wiener’s Circle added to their bills starting in the spring — about $4 to $5 per invoice, Novak said, or higher labor costs. The restaurant increased wages when the Cook County minimum wage went up in July, to $15.40 per hour; Won said the restaurant pays slightly above minimum wage, on average. The Wiener’s Circle is also contending with increased costs due to its expansion; it reopened last October after a monthslong closure for renovation. Costs are up for everyone, and hot dog joint owners worry about how much they can pass on to their customers without driving them away. At the Superdawg Drive-In in Wheeling and Norwood Park East, a Chicago dog comes with a hearty helping of fries. The meal comes out to $7.25, said co-owner Lisa Drucker. That’s up from $6.75 last fall, though Superdawg hasn’t raised prices since December. “We’re very deliberate about raising prices and not raising them too much or too often,” Drucker said. “But we know that it is on the horizon, sooner than later, because every single thing has gone up.” Advertisement Potatoes for Superdawg’s fresh-cut fries are a particular challenge right now, Drucker said, and even the oil used to fry them has skyrocketed in price. Superdawg gets its pickles from hurricane-ravaged areas of Florida, Drucker said, so they will be the next obstacle. At Fat Johnnie’s Famous Red Hots in Marquette Park, a Chicago dog — served here with a cucumber in lieu of the traditional pickle — goes for $3. Last month the price tag was $2. 50; the hot dog stand recently raised prices for the first time in about four years, said manager Roc Salerno. “A gallon of relish used to cost $3.50. It’s about 6 bucks now,” Salerno said. Dena Bachenheimer of Devil Dawgs said the chain will likely increase prices again after raising the price of a Chicago dog from $4. 50 to $4.75 in May. Compared with other menu items, the Chicago dog has been spared the worst effects of inflation because it’s topped with vegetables instead of cheese or other kinds of meat, Bachenheimer said. “We don’t get hit as hard as we would on the cost of a cheddar cheese dog, or a bacon cheddar dog,” she said. The Wiener’s Circle, Won said, hasn’t received much pushback on the higher prices. “I think people know what’s going on,” he said. Advertisement A char dog is prepared with all the toppings at The Wiener’s Circle. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) But as food has become increasingly more expensive since the start of the year, talk of the trade-down has accelerated, too. That’s the practice of buying less, or choosing less expensive options, when times are tough. The price of food in the grocery store has accelerated more than the price of food at restaurants — prices in those categories are up 13% and 8. 5% over last year, respectively — but Chicagoans have told the Tribune and choosing cheaper restaurants when they do to cut back on food costs. [ Updated monthly: Consumer Price Index and changing food prices for the Chicago metro area ] Won said he’s heard those concerns, but that it’s hard to pin down significant changes in consumer behavior at The Wiener’s Circle because of the restaurant’s long closure last year, itself preceded by the beginning of the pandemic. Business is stronger in the summer and tapers off when the weather cools down, Won said. On a blustery Tuesday, David Fisch and his fiancee, both of New York, purchased two char dogs with everything for a total of $12. That felt a little high for two hot dogs, Fisch said, but the price tag wasn’t a deterrent. “You know, you have this expected, ‘Oh, a hot dog’s $2, $2.50,’ and then you’re like, ‘Oh, no, I forgot, things are more expensive,’ ” he said. “You’re getting to the above-$5-for-a-hot-dog range.” Fisch, who was visiting Chicago, said he was an MBA student and had been learning about the economic reasoning behind price increases and inflation. “Prices actually make sense for where they are now,” he said. Advertisement Toni Morris serves customers from behind the counter at The Wiener’s Circle on Oct. 5, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) The Wiener’s Circle raised its prices late last year. Novak said the restaurant had discussed raising prices again but described the act of raising prices as a “delicate balance.” “You have to hit that sweet spot where you can raise the prices to kind of recoup the cost, but also you don’t want to raise the prices too much,” Novak said. “Right now, we’re at $6 for a hot dog. It’s like, how much more can we charge?” Even in good times, restaurants often operate on razor-thin margins, something diners might not realize. “The restaurant business is, you know, very visible to people,” Won said. “Some people assume that restaurant owners and restaurants must be just raking in money. The reality is that industrywide, restaurants have relatively modest profit margins. ” At The Wiener’s Circle, Won’s order is a char dog, Chicago-style. Cheese fries are a must, he said, but “you need to be hungry for those.” A year ago, Won’s order cost $10.25. Now it costs $11. 75, up more than 14%. Advertisement .