Taco truck economics: How inflation affects LA’s entrepreneursTaco Truck Econ

Clothing. Food. Gasoline. It seems like everywhere you look, prices for everyday things keep on going up. Inflation rose nearly 7% in the U.S. in 2021 compared to last year —  the highest increase since the early 1980s. 

Typically, wholesale price increases mean business owners pass their higher costs onto their customers. But what happens when your regulars work at the bottom of the wage scale? It’s a very difficult position for many small business owners in Los Angeles.

To read more, see the full story on KCRW.

Elizabeth Garcia, owner of La Patrona

Elizabeth Garcia spends almost every day on this industrial street in Boyle Heights. Photo by Benjamin Gottlieb. 

Elizabeth Garcia runs a breakfast and lunch cart in Boyle Heights called “La Patrona.” She earns $350-$500 in sales each day. But as prices go up for her everyday ingredients, from food to fuel,  it’s eating into her profits. 

Benjamin Gottlieb: How much have the prices gone up for some of your staple ingredients? 

Elizabeth Garcia: The biggest impact [of inflation] for me is the price of my raw materials, so the price of meat, vegetables; also the price of disposable goods: cups, forks and plates. To give you an example, onions are one of the main ingredients of my cooking. Months ago, I was getting a bag of onions for $14 to $16, depending on the quality. Right now it’s $24 to $27.