GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As police work to clear protesters from the Ambassador Bridge, six days of blockage has disrupted the flow of goods between the U.S. and Canada. It supplements a supply chain crisis, which continues to impact local bars and restaurants.
Ben Stoneman, the owner of Flanagan’s Irish Pub in downtown Rapids, said it’s been difficult to get the supplies he needs for a while now.
“It’s the worst time for it…any more disruption is gonna make life more difficult for us,” Stoneman said.
Many products have gotten too expensive, forcing him to change the restaurant’s menu. Acquiring liquor has also been a challenge.
“You make your liquor order on Tuesday, and whatever comes on Friday you’re usually happy to get,” Stoneman said. “You just have to explain to people, ‘it’s not our fault, we can’t get everything that you want.’”
Another item that’s been problematic is fish. The pub used to have cod — then switched to pollock — and recently changed once again.
These hurdles come as inflation rose 7.5% in the last year. It’s the steepest increase in 40 years. Food prices continue to go up as well.
“Beef and chicken, those have been the two biggest ones,” Stoneman said. “We can keep it in-house, but again, it’s a bigger expense for us this year.”
Despite this, Stoneman is very optimistic about the restaurant’s future. He said despite being closed or at half capacity for a huge portion of last year, sales in 2021 were the same as in 2019. Business has been good this year too.
“We had a good year, and we’re excited going forward,” he said.
