LOS ANGELES — The nation is in the middle of the worst inflation in the last 40 years, and everyone across the city of Los Angeles is feeling the pinch. At only 24 years old, Nayomie Mendoza is having to navigate the current state of inflation in ways she never thought she would. Mendoza stepped into big shoes when she inherited the family business, Cuernavacas Grill, in downtown Los Angeles.

“It’s a bit intimidating,” Mendoza admits. “But I’m just looking at it the positive way. The higher it gets, I’m literally just breaking my head trying to figure out how we can market certain things.”

Mendoza breaks off as she thinks about the trickle-down effect of the inflation. It’s caused her to rethink what cost-effective meals she markets on social media, drawing customers in.

“Like our plato de asada, meat is so expensive right now that we’re replacing that with either a breakfast dish or the chile rellenos,” she explained.

Mendoza has even had to rethink her ingredients. Guacamole is par-for-the-course at any traditional Mexican restaurant, but avocados are 18% higher than they used to be. Where it used to be offered as a free side, Mendoza has put avocados on the chopping block.

“We’ve been affected in that a lot of people like guacamole, but unfortunately we’ve had to start charging extra for that,” she said.

And the cost of tortillas has doubled. Mendoza is getting around that by switching to handmade tortillas, something she actually sees as a cost/benefit to her business. It adds an even more authentic touch.

“You know, in Mexico everyone makes handmade tortillas, and it’s a little more time consuming, but we’re just doing our best to keep costs low.”

But tickle-down inflation is not only affecting food. Because of rising gas prices, Mendoza has had to switch her delivery drivers to bikes. As driver Raul Santoyo suits up to make a delivery, he admits the bike is a little more work.

“Before, there was a little less work because of the pandemic,” Santoyo said. “But now, because of the work, we have a few more delivery drivers.”

Other Cuernavacas employees are having to change how they get to work every day. Usiel Mariel, who floats between chef and waiter, says he used to enjoy driving with his wife to and from work every day.  

“Sometimes I travel from Los Angeles to Santa Monica, which is a long drive,” Mursiel said. “It wastes a lot of gas. So now, I prefer that my wife take the bus here instead.”

But no matter how bad inflation gets, Mendoza says she will always be committed to keeping the open the doors of her small family business.

“Thankfully, I have a team who works with me and they get creative, but not everyone has that,” Mendoza said. “And so we’re just hoping for a better future.”

Mendoza may need to lean on that resolve soon. Some economists said that if this inflation trend continues, we could hit 9% inflation by April.