Higher gasoline and food prices have put restaurants in painful positions.

Current prices at Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque are $21.95 for a pound of brisket, $17 for a burnt ends sandwich and $18 for a brisket sandwich.

The flow of customers at Arthur Bryant’s is steady but the prices are not. They’ve about doubled in the last year.

The owner said it’s painful to pass it on, but he said he doesn’t have much of a choice.

“I wanted the customer to know that we’re not happy about what we have to do. We just aren’t,” said Jerry Rauschelbach, owner of Arthur Bryant’s.

A sign now greets customers telling them to “order anything besides the brisket or burnt ends.” The prices “we are charging are ridiculously high” because “the prices we are paying are ridiculously high.”

“I feel bad for the customer and I wanted the customer to know why,” Rauschelbach said.

The two dishes are the majority of its business. Costs began rising because of the pandemic.

“There’s enough cattle out there. There’s just not enough people to process the brisket at the processing plants,” Rauschelback said.

The owner said that dropping quality was never a consideration. Despite the increases, he said business is still booming.

“If it’s good and you like it and you want it, you’ll pay for it,” said Buford Logan.

“I appreciate the fact that they kind of put the warning on the doors. It’s going to be a little more than you expect. Again. It’s worth it,” said Steve Rohfing.

Once the supply issues are resolved the sign will go away.

“It’s kind of like the oil industry. Soon as you got a problem, gas immediately goes up and it comes down pretty slow,” Rauschelback said.