ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As food, fuel and supply costs continue to climb, Tampa Bay food truck owner Ronicca Whaley has adjusted the way she does business. One of the biggest changes: staying put.
Whaley, owner of Shiso Crispy in downtown St. Petersburg and Tampa, told Tampa Bay 28 reporter Michael Paluska that rising expenses have made traveling from event to event increasingly difficult to justify.
Asked whether it is easier to stay parked than spend money traveling between venues, Whaley said, "Absolutely, staying parked. Yep, I mean, the setup, the teardown, and the traveling is so much. And you're not just talking about gasoline for the engine. You're talking about gasoline for your generators, which you're going to use an entire tank for one shift."
The decision reflects the challenges facing many food truck operators as they contend with increases in nearly every category of expenses.
"My food prices are constantly going up. I just did an eval on my U.S. foods, and in the past three months, everything has gone up 10%. Prices are just always on the rise," Whaley said.
She described the business environment in stark terms.
"It's just an uncontrolled, scary disaster," she said.
Food costs are only part of the equation.
Whaley said propane, used to power equipment on the truck, has become significantly more expensive.
"A tank costs around 160 bucks," she said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, beef prices are up nearly 12% compared with a year ago. They are expected to continue rising as the nation's cattle inventory remains at historically low levels.
For Whaley, those increases have been particularly noticeable.
"Beef is the worst for us. Beef is astronomically way out of line," Whaley said.
To help offset costs, she keeps menu offerings streamlined and constantly reviews expenses, but even basic supplies have become more difficult to budget for.
"When you look at your invoice from last week to next week, why in the world am I paying an extra $4 for the case of paper towels? What happened?", Whaley said.
Supply chain challenges have also affected day-to-day operations. Whaley said shortages remain common, and some branded paper bags used by her business are currently on back order.
"It's crazy how often we have shortages on things. It's, it's yeah. And it seems like it's when one thing goes out somewhere, it goes out everywhere across the line," she said.
At the same time, Whaley said consumers are changing their spending habits as inflation continues to affect household budgets.
"A lot of economic factors, of course. And it's not just that. It's people aren't buying the same way because everything is so expensive," she said.
Despite the challenges, Whaley said customer demand remains strong. One menu item continues to stand above the rest.
Asked about her biggest seller, Whaley said, "Our bang bang chicken dirty rice. Absolutely, most definitely."
For now, she said staying parked, closely monitoring costs, and making constant adjustments have become essential parts of running a food truck in today's economy.
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