KAUKAUNA, Wis. — Inflation keeps on rising, and its impact is trickling down to Wisconsinites' to-go cups.
Despite an inflation rate that hit 8.5% in March, customers continue to come in and buy food, coffee and tea, Mamie Toppe, who bought Kaukauna Coffee & Tea in January, said.
She’d worked there a few months prior and loved the vibe of the business.
“Everybody gets to know to know everybody really well, especially the regulars,” Toppe said. “They come in, they joke with us, and we know what they’re going to order before they get to the front counter because they oder the same thing all the time.”
And those customers are still coming in, even though Americans are paying more for everything these days, from gasoline and food to clothing and energy.
“I’m not sure if that’s going to change the longer this goes on, if it’s then going to start affecting people’s purchasing choices,” Toppe said. “Or, if they’ve kind of been through enough in the last couple of years where they’re kind of rolling with the punches right now just to see what happens.”
Tom Lemke of Little Chute is among the regulars at Kaukauna Coffee & Tea. Inflation isn’t changing his habits or buying choices.
“You just live with it. It’s going to go away. I hope faster than I go away,” he said with a laugh.
Like consumers, restaurants are paying more for their ingredients and overhead costs — everything from meat to cooking oil and labor costs. Many are still recovering from the pandemic.
It’s the latest challenge put in front of the industry, said Susan Quam, executive vice president of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
On the plus side, people want to go out to eat.
“In the majority of the state, we are seeing a definite pent up demand,” Quam said. “Our supper club people are saying they have these folks who really want to get out who have been stuck at home for two years and the first place they want to go is a supper club.”
While coffee prices are up more than 10% in the last year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, Toppe said what she pays has remained stable. So have her menu prices.
But she’s seeing operating cost increases in other areas.
“Food isn’t as bad at the moment, but a lot of paper products, to-go boxes, coffee cups, that sort of thing, they’ve been out of stock and I’ve had to try to find alternatives or different vendors to go through,” she said. “That’s been a little bit tricky.”
She’s keeping an optimistic eye ahead even if inflation hangs on.
“As a business owner you always have that concern kind of in the back of your head,” Toppe said. “Fortunately, we are getting into summer and this place gets very busy… so I’m hoping that if things tend to get a little worse, that will carry us through.”