-May16,2020-
Meat prices double even with plenty of supply at the farm
USDA confirms it.Meat prices at the wholesale level have doubled in the past few weeks and just in time for that Memorial Day BBQ.
With a bottleneck not a the farm level or the supermarket-the problem is COVID-19 affecting the workers at meat processing plants across the US and in California- in Hanford with almost 200 cases.
“It doesn’t mean there’s actually a shortage of meat,”UC Davis prof Dan Sumner tells the SF Chronicle-“ farmers are still raising plenty of cows and pigs — but “I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a supermarket chain here or there that ran out of hamburger in the afternoon,” Sumner said. “That’s the order of magnitude.” (Because the plants can’t accept as much meat as before, the prices paid to farmers for meat have plummeted, too.)”
Buffet style is out – cafeteria style in
Buffet restaurants around the US are exiting the business or modifying their business model to end buffet-style serving, thought to be more dangerous in passing on the virus since everyone touches each serving.
Two major chains Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation have announced their permeant closure.
One poplar chain- Golden Corral – has been gradually reopening locations across the country with a different service model, typically a cafeteria-style strategy in which employees serve customers items that would have otherwise been in a buffet. Some locations, however, are shifting to a family-style table-service model.
“We have developed new service models to comply with variations in local and state guidelines that provide our guests an enjoyable Golden Corral experience,” the Raleigh, N.C.-based chain said in a statement emailed to the publication- Restaurant Business.The company said it expects to reopen its 100th location with a modified service model Saturday.
In Visalia there are there are 3 large Chinese buffet eateries who will have to make some decisions. California has 24 popular Hometown Buffet restaurants who’ll have to decide as well.