Tomatoes getting cut as prices soar
Like many Americans, Will Ford has come to expect a juicy, thick slice of tomato atop his burger.
But when he unwrapped his junior bacon cheeseburger yesterday at a
''No tomato," he said quizzically, still searching his bun like a guy who couldn't find his car keys.
Ford had overlooked the sign notifying customers that if they wanted a tomato, they had to ask for it. It's a sign of the times in Boston and across the country these past few weeks, as tomato costs quadrupled -- the unhappy result of crops squashed by hurricanes, bugs, and rainfall.
''It was a perfect storm for tomatoes," said Gary Lucier, an economist at the US Department of Agriculture.
Severe rainstorms in October wiped out much of the California crop that would have been sold last month. Florida, the nation's top shipper of tomatoes and the state that produces about half of the tomatoes available in November, was hammered by four hurricanes in the late summer and early fall. Mexico, which exports about 20 percent of the US November crop, suffered excessive rains; and bug problems in the Baja California area diminished the fall crop, Lucier said.
Prices soared, not only at the supermarket ($3.99 a pound at Shaw's yesterday) but also at some restaurants that use a lot of tomatoes and fast-food spots. The pico de gallo went missing from the Baja Fresh sauce bar inside Quincy Market. At Darwin's Ltd. in Cambridge, a $6.25 sandwich of smoked turkey, dill havarti, lettuce, and -- allegedly -- tomato cost an extra 35 cents for the tomato slice. At Prairie Star, a South End Tex-Mex restaurant, waiters began asking whether diners would accept their tortilla chips dry or pay $2 per bowl of salsa.
''I don't like having to charge our guests for something we usually give away free," said Sherry Berger, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Russ, and who found some patrons to be downright hostile about the change. ''I don't like the confrontation and the conflict."
But Berger could no longer justify the expense when it cost about $140 to make the day's minimum salsa supply of 5 gallons -- a cost that leapt from about $45.
''We just couldn't afford to give it away any longer while the prices are skyrocketing," she said. ''There's only so much expense you can absorb."
Typically, tomatoes sell wholesale for $8 to $10 for a 25-pound case. But that price spiked to $40 in recent weeks, and even then the pricey produce was suffering in the quality department. Subway, the largest buyer of tomatoes among fast-food restaurants, expects to use up to 115 million pounds this year. It is warning customers that tomatoes may not be as tasty for a while, but isn't charging extra. Others, such as Wendy's, stopped distributing tomatoes willy-nilly on their sandwiches.
It turns out that Americans love their tomatoes, though not as much as they dig potatoes. Consumer data put the quota at 136 pounds of potatoes per year, per person. Lettuce and onions are next in popularity, followed by the venerable tomato, of which Americans consume an average of 18 pounds per year.
As a result, many restaurateurs thought they should not mess with the makings of their sandwiches, salads, salsas, and sauces. ''You try to make customers happy," said Omar Ouldzenagui, the manager of La Pastaria in Quincy Market, who did not tinker with prices. ''You give them a sandwich, they want tomatoes."
The masses may soon be assuaged.
Prices this week appeared to be righting themselves -- $13.20 per case, wholesale, over the usual $8 to $10 average -- as the latest crop of Florida tomatoes, planted after the hurricanes, comes in. This week, Florida's crop reached 75 percent of its usual supply, said Lucier.
That has customers and restaurateurs alike breathing easier. Massachusetts Turnpike travelers stopping off for a bite today at the Roy Rogers Restaurant in Sturbridge should find that the tomatoes summarily removed last week from the Fixin's Bar have returned. ''It was outrageous there for a couple weeks, over $60 a case [retail], and the quality wasn't even there," said Mark Libiszewski, Roy Rogers' general manager. ''The price is now about $35 a case -- still not normal, but it's a little more doable now."
Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at ebbert@globe.com
