Have it your way - or not, if you want tomatoes
EUGENE, Ore. -- The mangers of several restaurants and cafes in Eugene said they'll keep tomatoes on their menus despite a shortage that has doubled the price of the red fruit in recent weeks.
"If it's not that, it's something else," said Bill Hatch, executive Chef at Midtown Marketplace Bistro. "Produce prices fluctuate so much that you just have to absorb that and be prepared for it. Sometimes it's citrus, sometimes it's tomatoes."
A cold winter in Florida is behind the price surge, said Rick Sbragia, who is in charge of Sales and Quality Control at JMB Distributing.
Several freezes have stunted the tomato crop in Florida, which has made tomatoes from Mexico a hot commodity.
Sbragia said they are selling a 25 pound box of tomatoes to wholesalers for anywhere from $20 to $24. Normally, the same box would go for between $10 to $12. Additional freight costs are added for shipping the crop to places like Oregon.
Some national fast food chains have responded by limiting tomatoes. Signs posted at Wendy's drive through menus tell customers tomatoes will be offered by request only, if they are available. Signs posted at Burger King's drive through menus warn customers tomatoes will be available off and on.
To continue serving tomatoes, Big Town Hero at 1810 Willamette Street has switched to pre-sliced tomatoes.
"What we've done is go to a pre-sliced tomato, it's the center cut so it's a little bit cheaper because prices sit for the year," said owner Harry Cardoza. "It's a better option for the consumer anyway."
Buying the pre-sliced fruit is cheaper than the current case price for whole tomatoes, said Cardoza, but it is more expensive than what he used to pay.
Tomato prices should fall by June, said Sbragia. That's when the California growers start picking.
