The price of gas in Ottawa is inching closer to $2 a litre and it has some small business owners making difficult decisions and taking new measures. At Palermos Pizzeria, it means taking a slice out of the business model. The owners are choosing to no longer offer free delivery. "We can’t take it anymore because it’s affecting the driver a lot,” said Houssam Hachem, Palermos Pizzeria co-owner. "We had to give them a raise and put that delivery charge so they can make up for the losses with the prices of the gas." As transportation and shipping become pricier, it’s pushing the price of food up even more. “Some food went up 25 per cent, some 11 per cent and if you look at the oil, it went up almost 100 per cent,” he said. Economists tie inflation to the soaring gas prices and there’s no relief in sight for those at the pumps. "We’re looking at $2 a litre, in that range, some time in and around the May 24 weekend," said Dan McTeague, Canadians for Affordable Energy president. Hachem says it’s a very hard time for all small business owners. He already made the difficult choice to increase menu prices a few months ago. Now Hachem is choosing to just pay the difference in inflation as he hopes for numbers to settle soon so he can keep a bigger piece of the pie.
