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The true costs of inflation in small-town Texas

newyorker.com

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Re: The true costs of inflation in small-town Texas

#4
> This year, Tyson Foods, the country’s largest meat processor, saw its first-quarter profits nearly double. Meanwhile, all over Texas, barbecue places have shut their doors: Two Sawers BBQ, in Floresville; 1836 BBQ, in New Braunfels; Brisket Bar-BQ, in Bellaire.

Kinda curious what the long term plan is here for Tyson -- just sell directly to customers after all the restaurants have closed, I guess?

Re: The true costs of inflation in small-town Texas

#6
> a box of a hundred and eighty eggs, which had cost around eight dollars when he opened the restaurant, in 2001, was nearly fifty.

I don't think I've seen wholesale eggs even close to that high at any point. I think the only place I've seen unit prices that high is at a Whole Foods (which is organic, not wholesale, and has a "premium brand"/convenience markup). Are eggs just outrageously expensive in the Texas market at the moment?

Re: The true costs of inflation in small-town Texas

#7
post #5

That’s rough, but when a business is no longer economically viable it’s probably time to close up shop.

What if the economic change is transient? There are only two regular restaurants in town. The impact is larger than just the owner.

I actually found it a really sad article to read. I feel like living in a major city, earning software development $$$'s, it can be real easy to disconnect from the producer side of the economy. Increasingly large companies are creating an environment that's conducive to their profits and survival at the expense of smaller producers who care more about the process and quality of what they produce.

Re: The true costs of inflation in small-town Texas

#9

> This year, Tyson Foods, the country’s largest meat processor, saw its first-quarter profits nearly double. Meanwhile, all over Texas, barbecue places have shut their doors: Two Sawers BBQ, in Floresville; 1836 BBQ, in New Braunfels; Brisket Bar-BQ, in Bellaire. Kinda curious what the long term plan is here for Tyson -- just sell directly to customers after all the restaurants have closed, I guess?

Why not? Profit margins are up, but overall sales volume was also up 25%. If they can make more money by selling more product, why stop?

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/tyson-foods-higher-meat-pric...

Re: The true costs of inflation in small-town Texas

#10

> This year, Tyson Foods, the country’s largest meat processor, saw its first-quarter profits nearly double. Meanwhile, all over Texas, barbecue places have shut their doors: Two Sawers BBQ, in Floresville; 1836 BBQ, in New Braunfels; Brisket Bar-BQ, in Bellaire. Kinda curious what the long term plan is here for Tyson -- just sell directly to customers after all the restaurants have closed, I guess?

They are raising prices because demand is sky high. They have no shortage of customers even with raising prices. Inflation is largely demand-driven with a few key supply constraints thrown in to make things worse.
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