MOUNT POCONO, Pa. — They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The picture you see above is worth a little over $730.
"I'm looking at the receipt, and I'm like 735 dollars, and the number of items was 25 items. It prompted me to take a photo and see that within the last year, stuff has doubled within the last two years at least," said Kurt Cummings, Wingz And A Prayer.
Kurt Cummings opened Wingz And A Prayer near Mount Pocono just before the pandemic took hold of the country and the economy.
The business has been getting by, only raising prices a few times over the course of the pandemic. But inflation is causing concern.
"The price of chicken is already up; I understand that. The price of chicken wings is through the roof. It was just one of those things to look at it as a small business owner and say, hey, the economy is in trouble. Something has to change. There's only so much we can raise our prices before customers decide wings are not at the top of their list," said Cummings.
While it's easy for some small businesses to maneuver around inflation prices, here at Wingz And A Prayer, one item the owner uses every day is cooking oil, and that price has skyrocketed too.
"We used to pay about $17 for the 35 pounds, and now it's around $44, so it's definitely doubled one and a half times," said Cummings.
Referencing the small number of items in the picture, Kurt says he can't believe how much prices have gone up in such a short time.
"To just look at the cart and be able to fit it in the back car, I mean normally I am taking two cars to get a load there, and now it was one this time, and it was surprising," said Cummings.
The hope, of course, is that prices come down.
Cummings points to the same of his business as a mantra of sorts.
"Like every restaurant owner or anyone right now, we are hoping for change, praying for change. The name here is Wingz and a Prayer, so we definitely praying for change," said Cummings.
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