At the Fourth of July barbecue at Estuary, the restaurant at ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina, chef Dennis Hatzinger will run seafood specials, grill half chickens and flip bratwurst and hot dogs for patrons enjoying the Brooklyn Bridge waterfront.

But there will not be ribs.

“I wanted to run them all weekend,” Hatzinger said. But baby back ribs cost around $9 a pound this year, he said, up from around $2.50 a pound previously. “I can’t even touch them,” he said.

Typical July 4th barbecue foods could cost Americans 11% more than last year, according to a Wells Fargo report revealing the impact of inflation on Independence Day cookouts, as labor shortages, high gas prices, pent-up demand and supply chain problems continue to drive up prices in New York and across the country.

Nationally, retail prices for wings and chicken breasts are up 38% and 24%, respectively, while the price for ground beef is up 11.8%. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of a home-grilled cheeseburger is also up 11% from last year.

In the New York-New Jersey area, meat, poultry and fish prices are up by 14% since last May, the highest of any food category, according to the May Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for the region. Alcoholic beverages are up 5.1% in the area, while fruits and vegetables spiked 8.7%.

Meanwhile, the cost to get food to New York City is up too. The index for gas has gone up by 53% since May 2021. In June, average retail gas prices were $5.03 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That’s up from $3.16 last June.

Labor also figures into the equation. Hatzinger said he should have around 17 on staff—eight or nine cooks, two prep cooks, a sous chef, a lead cook and four dishwashers. Instead, because it is so hard to find people to hire, he has three cooks, one prep guy and just two dishwashers.

That has driven costs up by pushing him to buy more expensive pre-cut or prepared items. Instead of dicing tomatoes, shallots and cilantro, Hatzinger says he buys pre-chopped pico de gallo and just adds lime. When eggs went from around $1 a dozen to $2.80, he started buying a liquid egg product for the omelets he serves from the marina’s grab-and-go store. He is also working more than ever—he expects to be on the job for 115 hours this week, he said. Estuary has not yet raised prices, choosing instead to take items off the menu if costs soar.

Still, operators hope that the current high costs are part of a short, high-priced moment that they can get through without increasing customer prices and risking a fall-off in demand.

At the Arlo SoHo, the on-site bar, restaurant and rooftop venue have kept prices steady for July 4th, even though higher costs on everything from imported wine to labor have gone up. The rooftop will have burgers and hot dogs, as well as beer and frozen drink specials. (Specialty spirits have gone up in price a bit, but the domestic super premium beer category is flat, thanks to slackening demand, according to the Wells Fargo report.)

Though the overall cost of food on the menus has gone up by close to 9% in a year, Arlo SoHo’s food and beverage director Gary Wallach said he has not raised prices on most items.

“We’d rather have a higher cost at this time of year than charge $40 for chicken that used to be $25 to make the margins we used to,” he said. “It’s the overall experience that drives the real value.”

Staying current is easy with Crain's news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge. Click below to see everything we have to offer.

Don't miss the chance to get the biggest news first! Stay connected to New York business news in print and online

Crain’s New York Business is the trusted voice of the New York business community—connecting businesses across the five boroughs by providing analysis and opinion on how to navigate New York’s complex business and political landscape.

685 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 (212) 210-0100