Local pizzerias that struggled to survive the pandemic are far from operating like they did before the public health crisis.
Huckleberry’s and Harris Pizza face similar issues when it comes to staffing shortages and supply issues.
They also struggle with the rising cost of food.
Huckleberry’s recently reopened its dining room to customers for a few hours a day.
It was operating under a strictly takeout basis since the pandemic.
The owner says packing food to-go got expensive.
“Not only was the product going up — the food cost — but the delivery cost was going up to for the company so they had to pass that on with extra fees on top for service and delivery of the products to us, but also the packaging, the paper, the carry out, the curbside pickup costs all of that was going up also,” said Jon Keim, Huckleberry’s owner.
Harris Pizza in Rock Island still operates on a carry-out only basis.
The location offered dine-in before the pandemic.
“Restaurant struggles still have supply chain issues of not getting requested items,” said Ryan Mosley, a co-owner of the Rock Island store. “Manufacturing on some things have closed or changed practices. Labor continues to be a struggle to find additional great team members. Inbound pricing continues to be a constant fight weekly.”
