Rising gas prices hit food trucks in Arizona
PHOENIX (NBC, KYMA) - Rising gas prices are squeezing Arizona food truck owners, forcing them to cut costs, use more fuel in the heat, and adjust operations to stay afloat.
Nicholas Kalil and his business partner Adam Dreyer started their Italian ice food truck business about three months ago, and while the small business owners put almost all expenses into account before started Gelu, there was one thing that is going far beyond budget and that's gas prices.
"Higher than we initially budgeted for, but it's something that you just kind of grit your teeth and get through," Kalil expressed.
The warm March weather is definitely playing a factor, with Dreyer saying, "Cost wise, everything becomes a little bit more expensive to run your generators going harder. You seem to go through just more fuel in general. Just to keep everything cooler, you alert."
Kalil says they're offering services to about five different events per weekend all across the valley and with that schedule, they usually fill their tank up twice, costing them over $100 each time.
It's a similar situation for the owners of Sweetheart Cafe.
"For us, we actually use a lot more power just because our fridges, they have to, you know, work harder in this hot weather. So it is using, I would say, like 20% 30% more gas than normal," said Bryan Gonzalez, owner of Sweetheart Cafe.
There's also fear from owners that the heat will shy away customers, but the ones NBC affiliate KPNX spoke to at the Arab-American Festival say the heat is something they're use to.
"Native Arizonan, so I'm used to it. This is nothing for us," said one Arizona resident.
According to AAA, the state of Arizona hasn't hit the highest recorded average price of $5.38 cents, but businesses are already having to cut back,
"We're trying to think about our food costs, any ways that we can lower the food cost to counteract it because those operational challenges, they're hard for us as a business. So, if we can try to lower our costs in any other way, where we can still, you know, get by," Gonzalez shared.
