MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Going out to eat has become more hefty on the wallet, especially on a smaller and more local scale.
Laker’s Burgers & Pizza has been in operation for nine years. Originally as a food truck, the business opened an official location on US-41 in 2024, carrying its Sasquatch theme along with. Co-Owner Alayna Prahl says running a local high-quality restaurant can often mean adding a few extra dollars to the menu, as gas, shipping and ingredient costs continue to rise.
“Quality is number one to us, and our customers recognize that,” she said. “While our prices can be a little higher, they realize the value that they’re getting. We want to keep it affordable, and it’s hard to do in times like this.”
Prahl says the restaurant’s multitude of toppings have been it’s hard hitting items this year.
“A hot topic is tomatoes, they are five times the price they typically are, and that goes for a lot of other produce like green peppers, red peppers, and jalapeños,” she said.
Often, it can be tricky to source this angle of business to share with the community. Prahl says being up front with a customer base is an important and honest step in the process of moving forward in today’s economy.
“This topic is not a fun one, we never like increasing prices, but I think that transparency is important in understanding what’s going on behind the scenes,” she said. “We’re going to have to adjust as restaurants and business owners, everyone is going to have to adjust if we want to continue to succeed. It’s unavoidable, I think the more we’re transparent about it, the more people will understand why things are shifting.”
Be sure to check in with WZMQ 19 on other price adjustments found throughout the Upper Peninsula.
