FARGO — Now that mother nature has let us back outside, instead of keeping us cooped up inside our homes, many local food trucks have reopened their to-go windows.
WDAY News found people getting back to eating at their favorite picnic tables during lunch or dinner.
Not much has changed there, but what about for the owners?
Octavio Gomez, owner of downtown Fargo's Taco Bros, said the biggest cost increase he and other food truck owners have experienced is in the ingredients needed to whip up a couple of tasty tacos.
"Tomatoes are up, the avocados are nuts, and almost like a double-fold in the increase of prices. And hopefully things change," Gomez said.
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It's really everything across the board that's up, he said, adding the biggest price jump he's seen is in the limes they buy.
As of now, he said, a single lime can go for 79 cents, when last year they'd go for a maximum of 25 cents.
That might not sound too bad, but his business needs five pounds of them a day.
"We like to make the flavor legit as we can get," he said.
Some might think the simple solution to rising supply costs is to raise prices, but Gomez plans to hold off on raising prices for as long as he can.
"I've been open for 10 years and I raised my prices once, and that was in 2016," he said. "And I just added $1 to anything that has beans and rice."
He's just thankful steak isn't on the menu, like at some other places he's talked to.
"Steak isn't even an availability unless you can buy it to fill a walk-in cooler. You'd have to buy like 100 boxes worth at least have them paid for," he said.
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For the food truck business, buying in bulk is definitely not an ideal situation.
While some have tried alternative meats and vegetarian options to save money, for now, Gomez hopes his current model works. It's only his first week open, so he can stay focused on making his popular tacos.
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