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KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Delfino Delgado serves a shot of tequila on the rocks at Yolanda’s Mexican Cafe in Oxnard with a smaller slice of lime than he would have several months ago.
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KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Limes are being sliced a little thinner at Yolanda’s Mexican Café in Oxnard and some other places since their cost has skyrocketed because of a shortage of the fruit.
With Ventura County seeing high temperatures and Cinco de Mayo approaching, many residents might be looking to cool down with a refreshing margarita at a local restaurant.
But even though limes might be growing abundantly in backyards throughout Southern California, restaurant and bar owners are struggling as the commercial price of the fruit has increased drastically due to fewer limes being available on the market.
California Restaurant Association spokeswoman Angelica Pappas said restaurants — both large chains and mom-and-pops — have been making adjustments to deal with the lime shortage, but they’re “not necessarily willing to bump them off the menu entirely.”
“A lot of restaurants are kind of swallowing that higher cost,” she said.
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KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR A half-full box of limes is kept in refrigeration at Yolanda’s Mexican Café on Thursday in Oxnard. Prices of the fruit have skyrocketd.
Others are cutting back on using limes as garnishes, only using them if they’re a staple ingredient in a recipe or cocktail, or substituting lemons, Pappas said. More creative owners are asking customers to bring in limes from trees in their backyards, she added.
So when you order your next drink, don’t be surprised if you see a thinner lime wedge, if any, resting in your cocktail.
Dave Mock, general manager for Yolanda’s Mexican Cafe in Oxnard, which has additional locations in Ventura, Camarillo and Simi Valley, said the restaurants have been dealing with the price hike for a couple of months.
Yolanda’s was paying about $23 for a 40-pound case of limes, but prices have skyrocketed in the past two months to almost $100 per case, Mock said.
“It’s pretty outrageous,” Mock said.
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KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Limes are being sliced a little thinner at Yolanda’s Mexican Café in Oxnard and some other places since their cost has skyrocketed because of a shortage of the fruit.
Since the price surge, Yolanda’s has been only giving out lime wedges upon request, slicing limes much thinner than normal, and buying one fewer case of limes per week.
“Everyone wants a lime with a margarita,” Mock said. Customers also request limes with most Mexican beers, he added.
Mock said the food-service industry is accustomed to seeing the price of produce — especially limes and avocados — fluctuate monthly, but he can’t recall another time when lime prices have been this high.
“It just affects our food cost. If it continues, we’re going to have to evaluate the situation,” Mock said. “The whole food industry increasing in pricing has made it difficult to maintain a food cost that we’re comfortable with. ... If it goes higher, then it cuts into the bottom line.”
Pappas said a “perfect storm” led to the lime shortage.
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KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Olivia Cardona and Dennis Corselli enjoy limes in their vodka sodas during happy hour at Yolanda’s Mexican Café on Thursday in Oxnard.
“Limes tend to spike in price throughout the year. People are used to it fluctuating,” Pappas said. “The expectation is eventually they’ll go down; it’s just unsure when that will be because it’s supposed to be now or this month some time.”
Until 2001, Florida produced half of all the limes consumed in the United States. But then a devastating citrus canker outbreak led officials to order almost all of Florida’s lime groves destroyed, and the industry never recovered.
Mexico began producing more than 90 percent of the limes consumed in the U.S.
Mexico’s crop, meanwhile, was hit by myriad problems this year, including unusually heavy rains and citrus disease in some areas. The Knights Templar drug cartel formerly jacked up lime prices by disrupting deliveries and shaking down farmers in western Michoacan state, but that problem has declined in importance after an offensive this year by federal forces and vigilantes who took up arms against the cartel.
There are no significant lime producers in Ventura County, said John Krist, chief executive of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County.
“A lot of restaurants and food-service folks are substituting lemons for limes, and we are the nation’s No. 1 lemon-producing county, so there’s potential boost to demand for that crop,” Krist said.
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KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR Garnishing a drink with a slice of lime has cost a lot more in the last few months for local restaurants and bars, including Yolanda’s Mexican Cafe in Oxnard.
Alessandro Tromba, owner of El Rey Cantina in Ventura and Camarillo, said his Mexican restaurants use fresh limes in all of their beers and margaritas, which represent 90 percent of their alcohol service.
Customers are still paying the same prices and seeing the same amount of limes used in their drinks, but this is costing the business a lot more money, Tromba said.
“We haven’t cut back; all that it’s done is cut into our profit,” Tromba said. “It’s not enough to shut our doors, but it’s frustrating.”
Each location is paying about $90 per 40-pound case and purchasing two cases a week.
“I don’t think most customers realize the cost of doing business has escalated so much,” Tromba said.
Tromba said a customer recently ordered a Michelada — a beer served over ice with fresh lime juice and tomato juice — and asked for five limes. Tromba said the customer changed his drink order with the server told him he couldn’t have that many lime wedges.
“We’re hoping that the price adjusts,” Tromba said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/may/02/lime-shortage-frustrates-local-restaurants/#ixzz30gUc8bTj
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carthomas7 writes:
And there is no global warming or change in climate; pseudo conservatism sucks; now I cannot even suck on my lime without worrying about my check book!!
Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/may/02/lime-shortage-frustrates-local-restaurants/#ixzz30gUlJdB1
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