TAMPA, Fla — Customers and good food keep El Gallo de Oro in West Tampa open.
"Since the pandemic started to cut our cost so the customer wouldn't feel it," Owner Julissa Orama said.
She and her husband have fought through, cooking their own food with no employees and even getting a second job to keep them afloat. But now supply and demand might shut their doors.
"When I first started noticing supply chain issues, I didn't think it would affect us how it has. I knew we would be affected because of everything around us, but not to this point."
A sign on the cash register says prices are going up for the first time in 6 years to make up for lost wages.
"Everything is inflated. Everything is almost double the cost of what it started off at the beginning of the year. For the 10 pound packs of chicken breasts, we used to pay $10 to $15, now it's $60," Orama said.
Julissa said one of the reasons she can't find all the goods she needs is because cargo ships are struggling to get out of ports in other states. Now, Port Tampa Bay is one of several in Florida trying to offer retailers incentives to dock here.
"We're open for business and so our ports! They're open for business and not just 8 hours a day. We're open around the clock," Paul Anderson, the President and CEO of Port Tampa Bay said at a press conference with Governor Ron DeSantis in Jacksonville.
Ports there and in Tampa both say they're offering negotiable rates per container and bringing cargo to the state would reduce trucking costs.
"We in Florida have the ability to help alleviate these log jams and help to ameliorate the problems with the supply chain. Part of that is because we've long been committed to reliable, modern, and accessible port facilities," DeSantis said.
While the state tries to strike a deal, the damage at mom and pop shops like the small spot in West Tampa has already been done.
"It's going to come to a point in time where we won't be able to afford things and keeping our doors open for our customers. That's our scare," Orama said.