PHOENIX — There is still not much relief in sight for rising prices. Local businesses are finding ways to continue to make ends meet.
The latest inflation report shows prices jumped 4% in September; that is up 8% in a year. It's one of the highest inflation rates seen in 40 years.
“It’s a very had time for bakeries in general and custom bakeries like us,” said David Pham, the owner of Bamboo Bakery.
Between the cost of ingredients for cakes rising, and then weddings and other events smaller after COVID, Pham said it’s been difficult. He’s said he’s been trying to keep costs reasonable for customers as prices rise.
“For the summer, we’re under. But, we still try to – hopefully, they call this wedding season, so hopefully it will help us break even for the year,” Pham told ABC15.
It’s still hard for Pham to find ingredients, so for some flavors, he charges more compared to others. He says that was not the case several years ago.
“Like chocolate. Some of the time, we have to fight with other bakeries to get the chocolate to make the cake,” he said.
Prices for eggs also went up substantially. Pham tells ABC15 he used to pay $0.70 to $0.75 for a dozen of eggs at wholesale price. Just last month, he said he paid $3 for a dozen.
In addition to higher costs, Pham added that they struggle to get boxes and boards to put their cakes in, as supplies are still limited. He’s had to turn to other means, like Amazon, to replace some materials.
From inside a bakery to outside work like landscaping, Sean Andersen, owner of Mountainscapers Landscaping, is also paying more. A custom shade structure he creates with a wood combination with steel costs 25% more to make this year compared to last year.
“Lumber is 50% more. Steel, same thing. Concrete's gone up like 25%. A lot of the plant material and landscape type stuff, it's almost even the same,” he told ABC15.
This month's report shows a slight increase of about one point in the cost of food and shelter compared to the last monthly release. Energy products are down over 2%. All goods and services except food and energy are up 0.6%.
Although he is paying a couple hundred more for gas and even more for materials, Andersen said his business is doing well. He adds that he’s keeping busy to offset the costs.
“We’re doing enough volume that that hardly factors in,” he said of the rising cost of gas.
Both businesses are doing what they can to help keep employees. For Andersen, he gave raises. For Pham, he said his business is trying to "survive" and stay open for his workers."
“That means if we still open for business, at least we can help some of the employees,” Pham said.
The labor department put out inflation numbers for several metros across the country. Eight of the 11 updated metros experienced falling inflation. Only Los Angeles, San Diego, and Boston saw an increase. Phoenix still has the highest inflation rate at 13%, but the rate is only updated every other month and new figures will not be reported until November.
