Ivrea, the sting of costs also affects pizzas: “We are forced to increase prices”

Historic merchants with at least doubled bills, adjustments are inevitable in the autumn: “For now, the customers are there”

IVREA. The continuing increase in the costs of energy supplies and raw materials for the production of goods is putting all sectors of the economy in crisis, casting disturbing shadows on the coming autumn.

Even the pizzerias are confronted with bills that double, or even quadruple, and an expense for genres instrumental to the activity that has become increasingly onerous. The Ivrea industry operators in the sector are balancing in order not to adjust the prices on their menus: “The bills have risen frightfully and food products have undergone an increase ranging between 30 and 40% – he says Tony Cuomo, owner of the pizzeria Aquila Nera -. Generally I spent about 2500 euros per bill for electricity: the last bill was 4800! At the moment we have not made any increases in our prices but we await the autumn developments ». The entrepreneur has not, however, noticed any downturns in work so far: “We enjoy a good passage, including tourists, especially foreigners, and I think we will have to wait until mid-September to assess whether, with the return to normal life, customers of the city will still be able to come and enjoy a good pizza ».

Luca Imperato, co-owner of the Marechiaro pizzeria, also highlights the unsustainable energy price increases: “The last bill for the electricity supply is five times higher than the previous ones, going from 550 to 2,700 euros, and it seems that the next one will be even higher given the fluctuations of the costs due to the war in Ukraine ». But the increases are not felt only in the bills: “The expenditure for foodstuffs used in our business has risen by 50 percent – continues Imperato – and I must also say that this price escalation had already begun before the outbreak of the conflict. “. A final look at the future: «The prices on our menu are still those of last year but in the autumn I will find myself forced to make some adjustments. I believe and hope that people will not deprive themselves of the pleasure of eating out sometimes, but for us entrepreneurs it will be very difficult to bear the management costs ».

For Carmen De Rosa, owner of the Mergellina pizzeria, «we are still emerging from the very serious situation of the pandemic, which has given a tremendous blow to our sector, and we are witnessing the increase in the prices of food raw materials necessary to work. We have always paid scrupulous attention in choosing quality products and ingredients for which now we cannot abandon those standards, especially in a particular reality like Ivrea. We have therefore made minimal increases in the menu because we always and in any case want to maintain the loyalty of our customers: individuals, families, companies. Tourists? There have been, but they are still too few ». The entrepreneur highlights a shortcoming: «Within our category there should be greater cohesion to generate actions aimed at achieving shared objectives. There is no way to predict the trend of these increases and therefore we do not know what our ability to cope with them will be nor what the future economic possibilities of the people.