An Athlone restaurant owner believes rising food costs are one of the biggest threats to the business.
Des Hennelly co-runs Savoury Fare which has four locations across the midlands town.
He says the price of 90 percent of their stock has risen in the past eight months, with some increasing two to three times in that period.
The food outlet recorded major hikes in the cost of chicken, fish and meat with some almost doubling. The local restaurateur believes despite Covid-19, recent hikes in energy and food have been the biggest challenge to the business in its 28th year of trading:
At the minute this is the biggest threat and challenge to many businesses, our own included. I probably look at my computer every day, watching emails coming in, watching invoices coming in and it's like a bit of a fog over the past eight months that has taken over. It (prices) has gone way up and some have taken two or three price increases, and we can't pass it on.
