Seven months back, Angeli Rodriguez of the Witty Whisker Cat Cafe in St. Augustine, Florida, was fretted about supply chain problems. Her focus has actually moved to balancing expenditures and income, however increasing expenses for labor and cat products are making that objective evasive.
“The cat food that I had originally purchased, I could go to the supermarket and get it for, like, $16 for a box of 24 cans. And now, it’s over $22 for the same exact thing,” Rodriguez said.
She clearly has no option however to feed the cats, and more affordable items are tough to come by. So while inflation in cat products has actually pushed her spending plan, she’s seeking to labor expenses to comprise a little part of the distinction.
“We’re also trying to cut a little bit of our labor costs,” she said. “We’re trying to adjust our shifts on our slow days so that we don’t have people sitting there twiddling their thumbs.”
But even with adjusted schedules, Rodriguez has actually had a hard time to keep earnings competitive in a tight labor market. While rivals are using up of $15 an hour, Rodriguez is having a hard time to preserve rate with Florida’s $11 base pay.
“Other places like Taco Bell and Starbucks are hiring at $15 an hour, and I just can’t do that at the moment,” Rodriguez said. “I’m really trying hard to keep up just with the minimum wage hikes that the state is doing.”
Despite expense obstacles, Rodriguez enjoys with the coffee shop’s effect. At completion of the day, it’s about getting the cats embraced into happy, healthy houses.
“We’re up to 341 [adoptions] right now, which is awesome,” she said. “And that’s really what I want to do. I just want to help these little guys find good homes.”
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