Lately, buying meat has been like playing the stock market for Lake Burrito restaurant in North Forsyth.
Paris Retana, culinary director of the small, family-owned eatery off Keith Bridge Road, is used to getting meat priced by the week. But all that changed after the novel coronavirus infected hundreds of workers at production plants across the U.S. and threatened the country’s supply chain.
Now, meat prices change by the day, Retana said, and sometimes even the hour. Meats like pork or steak are seeing mark-ups anywhere from 60% to 90%.
“It’s just insane,” Retana said.
It’s been one more strain on a restaurant that had built something of a cult following in the local community.
Founded 10 years ago by Retana’s twin sisters, Paris joined the family business in 2016 after attending culinary school in New York. They rebranded the restaurant to Lake Burrito. “Good food, good vibes,” became their new tagline, a nod to the quality of ingredients they sourced from local farmers markets and purveyors and the welcoming spirit they created in their dining area.
“It’s all about getting really good ingredients,” Retana said, “and then just sharing them with the community.”
But all of the family’s work over the past four years has felt upended by the coronavirus pandemic.
Presented with a drop in sales from having to temporarily close their dining area, Lake Burrito has furloughed their staff. Paris and his twin sisters have kept the service going but aren’t paying themselves, he said.
Even though Gov. Brian Kemp has eased restrictions on restaurants to allow for dine-in service, it’s still hard for small restaurants, like Lake Burrito, to realistically reopen their dining areas.
The restaurant did qualify for over $10,000 in loans through the federal government’s relief package, but Retana said they would have to bring their staff back onboard to have the loan forgiven.
Then came the troubles with food prices.
“Sometimes I don’t like to tell the story, because it sounds sad, right?” Retana said. “But that’s where we are.”
Lake Burrito has done its best to adapt. Like other restaurants, they started a curbside pick-up service. With meat prices skyrocketing and a shortage of supply — Retana said it has been three weeks since they have been delivered a full order — they started updating their menu items daily online to reflect what ingredients they have.
