25 Mar Meat Eaters Gulp Record Prices Before U.S. Grilling Peaks
Posted at 15:27h
Competitive eater and restaurant owner Jamie McDonald had no problem downing almost a dozen 11.5-ounce hamburgers in 10 minutes, or 9 pounds, 7.4 ounces of pulled pork. It’s the cost of the meat that’s making him gag.
McDonald, who used $70,000 of his eating-contest prizes since 2012 to open Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ last June in Windsor, Connecticut, plans to raise menu prices 10 percent to limit the profit squeeze on 5,000 pounds (2.27 metric tons) of weekly meat purchases. His bill reached $12,000 as beef costs jumped 30 percent in six months and pork surged 20 percent in March.