Inflation forces Omaha businesses to shut down

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - For five years one restaurant has opened its doors to its customers welcoming them with its infamous burritos and savory walking tacos. However, in the next couple of days, they have no choice but to fold their business.

“The cost of doing business per day is just more than what we’re bringing per day so, unfortunately, we have to close there’s no way around it,” Addison said.

Tim Addison is the owner of TNT Walking Taco he said it’s been an emotional couple of days for him as he gets ready to permanently wrap up his business.

“In the last three years for local restaurants, it just hasn’t been a fair fight for us,” Addison said.

Addison said business started to dramatically decline at the start of the pandemic. Once gatherings stopped, catering orders started to slow down for them. On top of it all, they were also hit with increasing meat, egg, and lettuce prices.

“Eggs are seven dollars now which is obviously a huge increase from what they used to be,” Addison said.

First restaurants, now bakeries, the cost of eggs has hit them especially hard. That is true for Benson cookie company, Baked After Dark. They rely on eggs, butter, and flour, but with high prices, they aren’t able to afford the ingredients to continue in their cookie business.

They plan to close on Saturday.

That worries another bakery owner, Michelle Kaiser of The Omaha Bakery.

“All of our dairy products have increased three times the price in a lot of items, eggs especially, and in a bakery that’s the main ingredient for us,” Kaiser said.

Kaiser doesn’t plan on closing her business anytime soon but is trying to pave the way.

She is asking for help from the community.

“They can choose to go to a store like Hyvee, Walmart, or Panera or they can choose to come to a local small business like a bakery,” Kaiser said.

TNT Walking Taco will officially close on Monday.

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