Meat lovers feeling the sting of higher holiday season prices for beef
Instead of serving beef three days a week, the owners of Pershing Heights Senior Living in New Kensington now are providing beef one day a week to residents because of high meat prices.
“People like me and different community organizations and churches I cook for are having a hard time serving beef,” said Steve Kubrick of Oakmont, who owns Pershing Heights and helps out with community dinners.
Call it “meatflation.” The price of meat continues to spike, with ground beef up 17% and the most expensive steaks soaring close to a 30% retail price increase in just one year, from November 2020 to November 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Experts cite a variety of factors for the increase, including inflation, supply chain problems and the pandemic causing a shortage of workers.
The $25-a-pound filet mignon and tenderloin roast at Giant Eagle’s Market District in Waterworks near Aspinwall looks like a holiday dinner dream.
But it’s not for everyone. Some shoppers at Giant Eagle, the region’s largest grocer, are turning away from the more expensive beef.
“While interest in poultry has remained consistent, some customers are moving away from higher-end cuts of beef and choosing to explore different cuts of beef to meet their family’s needs,” said Dick Roberts, Giant Eagle’s spokesman.
Beef roasts offer a good choice for flavor, value and shopping budgets, he said.
It’s a big market out there
Beef tenderloins and other higher-end cuts aren’t in high demand at the Community Supermarket in Harrison, said Bill Walters, meat manager at the grocer.
“Hams will outsell everything this time of year,” he said.
Pork and chicken prices are stable, and hams are in good supply at Community.
“The educated shopper comes for deals,” he said.
Beef possibilities include rump roasts on sale at $5.99 a pound and rib roasts for $12.99 a pound.
Better yet, the semi-boneless Sugardale ham is going for $1.38 a pound, but “you better get in here soon,” Walters said.
Yet shoppers who want the beef appear willing to pay for it.
There is not a lack of customers buying fresh beef at Bardine’s Country Smokehouse in Crabtree, which raises its own cattle and buys beef from other sources.
“The meat is high quality, and the demand has not been impacted by higher prices,” said owner Gary Bardine. His smokehouse is a destination meat market with loyal customers who trust his product, he said.
However, Bardine is concerned about the impact of just four major meatpackers controlling the national market. He would like to see more opportunities for small meatpacking businesses.
The White House in September came out against the lack of competition among meatpackers, saying the “four large conglomerates control the majority of the market.” Other issues cited by experts for high meat prices include supply and demand, the covid-19 pandemic, labor shortages and increased expenses in the beef supply chain.
Fancy restaurant dining
The desire and ability to spend $40 or more for a serving of prime rib or another high-end cut at an upscale restaurant is a personal consumer choice.
“We have filet mignon and ribeye, and we keep buying them and we keep selling them,” said Bill Fuller, president of the Big Burrito Restaurant Group, which operates Alta Via in Fox Chapel Plaza, Kaya, Soba, Umi, Casbah and Eleven in Pittsburgh, and the Mad Mex chain.
Fuller said meat prices have doubled on some of the high-end cuts since a year and a half ago when his restaurants reopened after a closure at the beginning of the pandemic.
Fuller raised his menu prices, especially on higher-end beef entrees.
“We are making less per plate on those items,” he said. “We can’t raise the menu price all the way because customers will be blown away.”
Joe Weaver, executive chef at DeNunzio’s Italian Restaurants in Jeannette, Latrobe and Monroeville, agrees.
Considering all of the expenses that go into bringing high-end beef to the table, Weaver said, “Nobody would pay for an $85 steak.”
Weaver said he recently bought a case of certified Angus beef for $1,400.
For the holiday menu, the restaurant will pass on the extra costs but also will serve slightly smaller portions of filet mignon.
Given the higher prices of beef, DeNunzio’s gets creative with entrees featuring sirloin steak and skirt steak, Weaver said.
But the high meat prices are hitting hard even with lower grades of beef.
The legendary Italian restaurant makes a lot of meatballs for entrees and wedding soup, buying 700 to 800 pounds of ground meat per week. The price of ground meat has nearly tripled, Weaver reported. Pre-pandemic, the restaurant paid 99 cents a pound; it now pays over $3 a pound, he said.
Given the market, chefs are researching their meat purchases carefully.
The Twisted Thistle in Leechburg has not been serving filet mignon recently, although it will offer the prized steak for an upcoming holiday meal package.
Owner Linda Alworth and her staff check the market to decide what is best for their guests. Filet mignon is too expensive, but a New York strip steak is not and customers love it, she said.
“You can’t buy something too expensive and get stuck with it, because it’s too pricey for our customers in the area,” she said.
Hill Crest Country Club in Lower Burrell has seen a 25%-35% increase in beef prices in the past year, said Dan Merchant, general manager.
“When you quote a Christmas meal in August, September and October, it’s a real squeeze on the bottom line,” he said. “We’ll have to look at our prices next year for sure.”
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