Lettuce concerns continue to frustrate Calgary restaurants, shoppers

Looking for a salad with a meal out? Good luck... Suppliers say the cost for a case of lettuce has tripled, and the price spike is forcing one Calgary restaurant group to get creative.

The shortage of lettuce driven by inflation and supply chain issues is frustrating Calgary restaurant owners struggling to keep salad on the menu.

Grocery stores are also dealing with sparse shelves in the produce section, and what is for sale is costing customers more.

Matt Batey, chief operating officer of Teatro Group restaurants in Calgary said the lettuce shortage has become frustrating for his restaurant locations.

"We're still able to get product, its just costing us a significant amount of money to be able to get that product and we are absolutely having to make adjustments on the pricing side," said Batey.

He says many dishes at their Vendome restaurant location are not reliant on iceberg or romaine lettuce, but they do make a house salad as a side and use the lettuce in some menu items.

"Of course we made some adjustments. But is it a crisis or opportunity? Its a really great opportunity for us to use local product from hydroponic or aquaponic growers."

Wholesale produce distributors told the Canadian Press demand is exceeding supply of iceberg and romaine lettuce, and pricing pressures are expected to continue throughout the month.

It comes at a time when supply has been hampered by extreme weather patterns and a virus that has spread across California, a major supplier of lettuce.

"That particular area has had crops decimated. So there's a massive shortage," said Restaurants Canada COO Kelly Higginson.

However, Hydragreens, a hydroponic grower in Springbank told CTV News the company can fill supply shortages by providing restaurants locally grown lettuces for less than the current inflated price.

"Hydroponics is just a really good way to grow, especially in Calgary where we don't have all year long to grow. Because the product is perishable so quickly we need to have it growing continuously," said Marc Schulz, the company's owner.

Southern Alberta is also seeing a shortage of lettuce

"It affects every restaurant and anyone that sells lettuce and the product, but romaine is a huge one," said Vicky Vanden Hoek, owner and operator of Honkers Pub & Eatery in Lethbridge.

"Of course, all of us have Caesar salads so it's a huge shortage."

The shortage comes following a drought and plant viruses affecting the availability and quality of crops in California.

"With the soils the rains and everything that's happening, they can't produce enough to meet the demand," Lyle Sterenberg, the southern Alberta district sales manager for Gordon Food Service Canada, told CTV News.

"So the price is high and the product that's coming in is not very good."

Sterenberg says that the shortage has caused their price for a case of lettuce to nearly triple since the summer while quantities have diminished.

"An average case in the summertime could be $35 or $40 and the weight would be quite high, whereas, right now, we're probably looking at $100 to $150 and the weight is even less," he said.

it puts a heavy burden on restaurants like Honkers, which has started to switch lettuce with other, more available products.

"Let's say, for our burgers, maybe we're changing to a different leaf lettuce," said Vanden Hoek.

"But you've got to have romaine lettuce for Caesar salads, and then sometime we ask them, if we're doing wraps, maybe we put a different lettuce product in there."It's also forced owners like Vanden Hoek to take a loss, or even remove dishes, in order to maintain prices for their customers.

"We're keeping our prices the same but we're just taking that hit until it weeds itself out, hopefully."

Experts say the shortage could potentially end within a few weeks as more lettuce is expected to start coming out of Arizona.

With files from The Canadian Press