PLUM, Pa. — After the tomatoes in the bins at Lulelo’s Pizza in Plum run out, the pizza shop is officially out of tomatoes for the foreseeable future.
The reason is the increased cost of tomatoes.
“You can charge market price for wings and stuff like that, but I’m not going to say…we are charging market price on tomatoes. If you want two half slices on your sub, it’s going to be an upcharge,” the owner of Lulelo’s, Patyn McCune, told Channel 11.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prices for fresh tomatoes hit an eight-year high in March. Prices rose about 15%.
Overall, prices are now up 23%.
“We were doing and diced tomatoes, and I’m like…. That’s pretty expensive for me to make you an Italian hoagie to-go,” she said.
McCune also told Channel 11 the quality isn’t as good.
At first glance, they look like they’re ripe and good, but even the quality of these… there’s a lot of juice on the bottom. They’re not as good as they should be,” she added.
The reasons, according to economists, are tariffs on fresh tomatoes from Mexico, adverse weather, and higher energy costs triggered by the Iran war.
“I think it’s kind of a multitude of things… it just kind of sucks because we don’t want to pass that on to the customer,” McCune said.
However, Lulelo’s customers are understanding.
“Hoping that it’s changing soon, but I do understand… You have to make money. Especially with small businesses, and I hope that people still continue to support them through this,” Emma Denney told Channel 11.
So for now, fresh tomatoes aren’t on the menu at Lulelo’s.
“We’re doing our best. Unless you want us to mark up the prices to have these items on there, then this is just the way it has to be,” she said.
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