Cafe owner battles rising costs in Virginia

Java Jacks owner Jeans Owens pays double for coffee.

Owens took over the Tappahannock cafe eight years ago with her husband. Since 2022, her coffee prices have risen more than 30 percent. The cost of beef and sausage has also climbed. She now pays nearly 30 cents for to-go boxes that cost 12 cents in the past. A cup, lid, and straw combination that once totaled three cents now exceeds 20 cents.

Her monthly electricity bill has jumped from the $450 to $500 range to over $1,000. Owens keeps some meals at $10 to retain customers. She buys milk and juice at Walmart early in the morning instead of from a supplier. She checks prices at three different suppliers and switches vendors to find the lowest cost.

Customers are changing their behavior in response to higher prices. Owens notes that senior citizens now share orders more frequently. She previously saw one or two split tickets per day when she bought the business. Now, multiple split orders appear daily. Tips have fluctuated with gas prices, dropping when fuel costs rose and recovering when they fell.

Staffing remains the biggest stressor for Owens. She operates a second coffee shop across the river in Warsaw. Rents in this rural area have increased, with a median income around $50,000 annually. Owens has helped employees find housing, sometimes placing them in motels temporarily. She carpools five employees to work because they lack cars or cannot afford gas. Owens works kitchen shifts and handles paperwork on evenings and days off.

Jameka Campbell works two jobs in Richmond County. She serves as office manager at Menokin and community outreach director at Just Harvest Va. Campbell manages her budget by using the Walgreens app to clip coupons. She buys laundry detergent in bulk when it is on sale. On a recent trip, she spent $60.04 and saved $27.71 on household supplies. She says this amount covers a meal or a quarter of a gas tank.

Campbell is researching candidates in the tight race between Republican incumbent Rob Wittman and Democrat Shannon Taylor. She plans to examine their property ownership and living situations. She believes politicians need to shop at grocery stores to understand current prices. Owens says whoever wins the election needs to understand the struggle facing small businesses. Owens says she is struggling, bluntly.