A sharp increase in haddock prices is leading Nova Scotia eateries to transfer the added expenses to customers due to decreased quotas and limited supply pushing up the cost of the fish across the Maritimes.
The Pleasant Street Diner in Dartmouth, N.S., renowned for its fish and chips, typically uses around 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) of fresh haddock weekly. However, earlier this month, their supplier raised the price of haddock, a usually cost-effective fish, by 40%, translating to a $5 per pound increase. Consequently, the diner’s weekly haddock costs surged by $5,000 overnight.
This spike marks the most substantial price hike observed by restaurant co-owners Stephen and Tommy Fatouros in their thirty years in the fish industry. Given that haddock offerings constitute over half of their menu, the brothers had to implement a 10% menu price increase to counter the sudden cost surge.
The surge in haddock prices can be attributed to a constrained haddock supply. In April, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans slashed haddock fishing quotas in regions off southwestern Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, and the Gulf of Maine by 57%, citing a decade-long stock decline.
The diner is also grappling with escalating canola oil costs, essential for deep-frying fish, with their weekly canola oil expenditure now $700 higher compared to the previous year.
The Pleasant Street Diner isn’t the sole establishment affected. Rudy and Olive’s Fish & Chips in Bedford, N.S., is encountering the same 40% haddock price surge, prompting them to announce menu price adjustments in a July 3 Facebook post.
This significant surge in haddock prices adds to the challenges faced by the Atlantic Canada restaurant sector, which has been experiencing escalating costs along the supply chain since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Natasha Chestnut, Executive Director of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, noted that many restaurateurs have absorbed rising costs without passing them on to customers, but are now at a critical juncture. She highlighted that 36% of Nova Scotia restaurants are either operating at a loss or barely breaking even, a stark increase from 2019. As a result, Chestnut anticipates more restaurants will adjust their prices as they exhaust strategies to sustain their operations.
To maintain reasonable prices, the Pleasant Street Diner had previously removed scallops from its menu entirely due to soaring costs, following a reduction in the total allowable catch on Georges Bank by about 48%.
Given the rising costs consumers face, Chestnut doesn’t foresee significant resistance to menu price adjustments in restaurants.
The Fatouros brothers clarified the rationale behind their price hike in a July 6 Facebook post, receiving praise for their transparency from online commenters and diner patrons.
Two days post-announcement, the diner saw a surge in patrons, with Stephen expressing gratitude for the overwhelming support, noting the importance of maintaining a balance between fair pricing and sustaining their business amid challenging circumstances.
