Saskatoon restaurant staple prioritizing guests while balancing books

It takes a good recipe to run a thriving restaurant, but as the cost of those ingredients rise, businesses are working overtime to keep serving customers the same way.

For the past four years, Jason Wosminity has managed Las Palapas, a staple Mexican restaurant local to Saskatoon.

In the 18 years the colourful eating establishment has been open, Wosminity said there have never been prices like the ones we’re seeing now.

“It’s unbelievable the amount of increases that we’ve experienced,” Wosminity said. “(These are) crazy, crazy prices that we are faced with.”

Every piece of each menu item and a lot more behind the scenes contribute to the formula that makes a restaurant like Las Palapas what it is, Wosminity explained.

Things like glassware, furniture, decorations, upkeep and more are things that create the ambiance people love about a space.

The cost of those items — and especially freight — has become one of the biggest expenses at Las Palapas.

“Everything we’ve sourced is from Mexico and to get that brought here now is astronomically much higher than what we’ve ever had in the past,” Wosminity said.

New orders are in the restaurant’s near future as glasses break and wear and tear occurs, but those have a higher cost now that the restaurant will have to cover.

It’s an expense that has gone “through the roof,” but Wosminity said the owners won’t compromise the quality and quantity of what their restaurant offers, even as they see key ingredients jump in cost.

“When it comes to putting the food on the table for our guests, we have found the formula that works for our product,” he said, “and so we will never move away from the recipes that we’ve created and have such success with.”

Jason, a manager at Las Palapas, prepares two drinks behind the bar. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

Meat, for example, is costing the restaurant about 13 per cent more, according to Wosminity. Just last Monday, Wosminity said owners gathered the staff to have a meeting about the cost of canola oil, which jumped by 21 per cent on the restaurant’s bill last month.

With those price increases, eventually some of that has to affect menu prices, Wosminity shared, but said the restaurant strives to find a way that keeps prices affordable for all.

A delicate balance between keeping the restaurant’s offerings in a place where customers see good value and can afford to bring their family while still passing some of that cost along to them to keep the business affordable is key to surviving the current economy, Wosminity said.

Other considerations, like Saskatchewan being only a month away from an increase to minimum wage, are also necessary to weigh.

“That affects this industry big time,” Wosminity said.

Having excellent staff, some of whom have been with the restaurant since it first opened, is something else the restaurant will need to soon address.

“We treat them well, we pay more than the average, we have benefits that a lot of places in this industry don’t have and that’s all on the bottom line,” he said.

All in all, Wosminity said the business is seeing thousands more a month in costs.

“We’re easily 15 per cent more than on the bottom line,” Wosminity said.

He added how grateful the business is for all the support it has had from faithful customers who have made an effort to support the restaurant throughout COVID and still continue to frequent the dining room and patio now, in the face of these costs.

“I’m so proud to be a local restaurant entrepreneur that is being supported by such a great province,” he said.