DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Prices for chicken have jumped over the last couple of weeks after a slow down in poultry production.
RELATED: Here are the items experiencing shortages or price increases
This is impacting the Sandwich Man Pizza Too shop in Delray Beach, causing them to raise their prices following the shortage.
The shop has been open for 25 years along Atlantic Avenue.
Owner John Tarantino said the pandemic brought problems they have never had to deal with before.
"This past year has been an all-new experience, everything," Tarantino said. "Exactly when they started talking about (the chicken shortage), next morning when we went to get chicken and [it was] gone, no one had anything. We were going crazy trying to find it."
Tarantino said they were lucky to get about 40 pounds last week, but it didn't come cheap.
"The price went up almost triple," he said. "Now it's at double [the cost]."
His shop had to make the hard choice to raise the price of its items that contain grilled chicken.
This includes some items increasing several dollars to help make up for the prices.
"It is always hard to raise the prices," Tarantino said.
He said none of his customers have mentioned the uptick in prices so far.
"For some reason, everyone understood this time, so go figure. I was ready for an argument, but no one wants to argue," Tarantino said.
The National Chicken Council said chicken production was disrupted by the winter storm that hit Texas in February, creating a 4 percent decrease in supply during the first quarter of 2021.
A spokesperson for the NCC said they expect the tight supply to pick back up quickly.
Tarantino said they are lucky to have other items on their menu to help their business during the chicken shortage.
The owner of the Sandwich Man Pizza Too shop said in the next few months he hopes to return the prices on his menu back to normal.
