Businesses, consumers make the most of tomato shortage

David Russell has been listening to customers complain about the price of tomatoes for several weeks.

“They look at the price then they look at me and I tell them, ‘I can’t help you,’” said Russell, an assistant in the produce department of Piggly Wiggly on Henderson Drive.

Since Florida experienced an extended mid-January cold spell wiping out nearly 70 percent of its tomato crops, supplies have been limited, prices have soared — leaving area restaurants and grocers scrambling to get what they can.

“Right now we’re not having a problem getting them, but the price has just gone out of the roof — it’s outrageous,” said Raymond Comley, Piggly Wiggly’s store manager.

Comley said prices have more than tripled on all the different types of tomatoes the store carries in the last couple of weeks.

“Two to three weeks ago we had a sale on them for .99 cents a pound. Now they’re more than $3 — either $3.59 or $3.99 — and others are even more than that,” he said. “We’re not buying a lot of them either, just keeping some on the shelves. People are buying them, but sparingly.”

Food Lion stores in the region are seeing “some tightening of supplies,” said Christy Phillips Brown, a spokeswoman for Food Lion.

“Given the shortage in Florida we are seeing a slight increase in price, but we are sourcing them from other areas,” she said. “I would say supplies have been more affected this year than other years due to the weather, but it’s not really uncommon (for there to be reduced supplies) this time of year.”

Area restaurants are paying higher prices and still experiencing either a lack of selection or distribution challenges.

“Tomatoes have been very hard to get and we use a lot of them,” said Leticia Cazilla, the co-owner of Las Fincas Mexican Restaurant in Swansboro.

David Cascadden, the front house manager of The Fairway Restaurant in Cape Carteret, said he feels fortunate he was able to find a North Carolina supplier.

“We went about two and a half, three weeks without them until I was able to find a local supplier,” he said. “We’re paying around $30 a case … We had been paying about $22.

“With an Italian joint we just have to have tomatoes.”

So far, he said, the restaurant has not increased prices to offset the increased costs of the tomatoes.

“We are cutting back on the portion of tomatoes a little bit,” he said.

Pie Sano’s Italian Restaurant on Henderson Drive typically goes through three to four 125-pound cases a week.

“I’m having a hard time getting utility tomatoes, which we use for salads, sandwiches, hoagies, pizza toppings and specialty dishes for dinners — they sent Roma tomatoes in its place the last two weeks” said Carmelo Mazzotta, the owner. “And I have to check them very carefully to make sure they’re not rotten.”

He said he is also paying more than three times the price.

“They usually cost $12-$16 a case. Now I’m paying over $34 a case.”

He said he has no plans to quit using tomatoes or increase prices right now.

“You don’t want to change the product the customer expects; I’ll keep using them even though they are expensive,” he said.

John Currie of Jacksonville said he is not only put off by the price of the fresh tomatoes in the grocery store, but he is disappointed in the quality.

“There’s not much of a choice out there, and what’s out there is pitiful for the most part — and that’s if you want to pay the price. Tomatoes out of a can taste better right now,” he said. “I’ve noticed a lot of places around town that put up signs they are either out of tomatoes or are by request only — I suspect the best of what’s out there is only going to high end suppliers.”

Given the increased prices, Angela Morrison of Jacksonville said she is buying tomatoes sparingly and is only buying the cheapest variety.

“We’re having sandwiches tonight, or I wouldn’t buy them,” she said, as she picked through Piggly Wiggly’s Roma tomatoes priced at $1.59 a pound. “That pack of three small tomatoes over there is $4.99 — that’s a lot. I just buy them as needed for a salad or sandwiches.”

Currie said it makes him long for summer — specifically, its farm-fresh and local tomatoes.

“It all makes you hope for a good tomato season this year,” he said. “I love a good tomato sandwich.”