Small business owners and shoppers in Virginia's 1st District cut costs as prices climb

Electricity bills at a coffee shop in Tappahannock, Virginia, have more than doubled in recent months, rising from a typical range of $450 to $500 per month to over $1,000. This increase is part of a broader trend of rising input costs that business owners in the area say is straining their operations and forcing them to change how they buy and staff their businesses.

Jeans Owens, who took over the Java Jacks cafe with her husband eight years ago, traces the current financial pressure to the pandemic and subsequent inflation. Since 2022, the price of coffee beans for the shop has increased by more than 30%. The cost of beef and sausage has also risen, affecting the price of prepared foods.

Packaging materials have become particularly expensive for the cafe. Owens notes that to-go boxes, which cost 12 cents each in the past, now cost nearly 30 cents. The combined cost of a to-go cup, lid, and straw has jumped from approximately 3 cents to more than 20 cents. These increases have forced the shop to raise menu prices, though Owens has kept some meals at $10 to maintain affordability for regulars.

To manage these costs, Owens has changed her purchasing habits. She now buys milk and juice directly from a Walmart in the early morning and sources fresh fruit from a local grocery store instead of relying on a single supplier. She also monitors prices from three different suppliers and switches between them based on which offers the lowest cost at any given time.

Customer behavior has shifted as well. Owens reports a noticeable increase in senior citizens splitting orders. When she opened the cafe, she saw one or two split tickets per day; now, she sees multiple. Tips, which were previously high due to the shop's small size, decreased when gas prices spiked but have begun to recover as fuel costs have fallen.

Staffing has become a major challenge for Owens, who also operates a coffee spot in Warsaw, across the river. She has been short-staffed at both locations for months. The median income in this rural area is around $50,000 a year, and rising rents make it difficult for employees to find housing near their workplaces. Owens has helped some employees find apartments and has temporarily housed others in a motel. Transportation is another hurdle; five of her current employees rely on a carpool to get to work because they do not own cars or cannot afford current gas prices.

These operational challenges have led Owens to work in the kitchen herself, delaying front-of-house duties and paperwork until evenings and days off. She says other local restaurant owners are facing similar situations. Owens is also running for the non-partisan town council, citing the lack of housing and transportation infrastructure in the area as key issues.

Tappahannock is located in the eastern part of Virginia's 1st Congressional District. The midterm race in this district is currently close, pitting Republican incumbent Rob Wittman against Democrat Shannon Taylor, the commonwealth's attorney for Henrico County. Owens says she wants the winner to understand the financial realities faced by small businesses in the region.

In nearby Richmond County, Jameka Campbell, who works two jobs at the Menokin historical site, describes a similar need to scrutinize spending. Campbell, an office manager at Menokin and a community director for the nonprofit Just Harvest Va, uses a strategic approach to shopping at a Walgreens in Callao. She uses the store's app to clip coupons and track sales, aiming to spend no more than $100 on household supplies in a single monthly visit.

On a recent trip, Campbell purchased two 12-packs of toilet paper, facial tissues, Lysol, dish detergent, disinfectant wipes, laundry detergent pods, disposable cups, scent boosters, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and mouthwash. She spent $60.04 and saved $27.71 through coupons and rewards. She notes that this savings covers a meal or a quarter of a tank of gas. Campbell says she is researching the local congressional candidates' past voting records and personal property ownership before deciding how to vote in the upcoming election.