San Francisco restaurant blames politicians for inflated prices: ‘Please don’t hate us’

A Bay Area restaurant is calling out politicians for rising prices as it struggles to survive amid persistent inflation.

As economic headwinds cripple San Francisco restaurant owners, it has become commonplace for businesses to post signs begging customer to forgive their price hikes — but one pizza joint has taken their plea to another level.

“MURDER!” says a sign posted on a soda fridge in Big Apple Pizza, a restaurant in Livermore, California, according to a SFGATE report. 

“We are getting killed by the galloping inflation in food costs,” the sign continued. “Unlike politicians we cannot raise our debt ceiling and are forced to raise our very reasonable prices. Please don’t hate us.”

Ray Attar, Big Apple Pizza’s owner, said he put the sign up in the spring of 2020 as pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions sent the cost of food soaring. 

Before the pandemic, Attar could buy a gallon of oil for $38 – but that price has more than doubled, he told the San Francisco-based news site.

To survive, Attar has been forced to raise prices – hiking the price of cheese slices by 50 cents, salads up by a dollar and medium and large pizzas up by $2, he said.

“Forget the profit,” Attar told SFGATE. “Profit is gone out of the window. Now it’s just like, how can I keep this place going and hoping that things might turn around?”

The New York-style pizza place has been serving Livermore customers since 2011, and Attar has fought to keep his prices reasonable – $6 for a slice of cheese pizza and about $20 for a 14-inch pizza.

But it has not been easy. A lot of the foods needed to keep the place churning out pies are specialty ingredients, which Attar said he can only get from certain vendors – so there is nowhere else to turn for lower prices.

Delivery apps like DoorDash are further squeezing the restaurant’s profits. Third-party delivery apps account for 60% to 70% of Big Apple’s business, but take 33 cents for every dollar of revenue in service fees, Attar said.

They’re “another Uncle Sam,” he told SFGATE.

Though Attar loves serving the Livermore community, he said he has doubts about whether local restaurants will be able to survive.

“At times, you’re like, OK, I’m feeding everybody, and then I struggle at the end to feed my family,” he told the news site.

It’s been a difficult year for San Francisco restaurants as prices remain stubbornly high, sending revenue down and leading more local spots to shut their doors.

The San Francisco Standard reported on more than 30 restaurants – from upscale chef projects to longtime neighborhood go-to’s – that closed their doors in 2024.

Some San Francisco restaurants that succumbed to suffocating financial pressures in 2024 included neighborhood sports bar Blackthorn, which shut down after 31 years in business; Little Spot Cafe, which had a 22-year run serving affordable coffee and sandwiches; and San Francisco’s last Denny’s, according to the report.