SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Bewilder Brewing Company opened its doors in December of 2019. Since then, the business has survived a global pandemic, recession and national labor shortages.
“We don’t have any sales data to look back on, we’ve only existed in this market,” says Cody Mckendrick, owner of Bewilder Brewing Co. Mckendrick says inflation rates are forcing the business to raise prices, while still eating the cost of shrinking margins.
“In our kitchen, we make most of our food from scratch, our sausages from scratch, and the price of meat has gone through the roof,” says Mckendrick, “Our prices may be 20 to 25 percent more than they were a couple years ago, but our margins are probably 15 to 20 percent less than they were before too, so we haven’t been able to pass on all of it,” he says.
The Federal Reserve signaled it will raise interest rates, possibly multiple times this year.
“The goal there is to help cool the inflation by slowing the economy by a little, by slowing the demand side of the economy, so the supply side can catch up,” says Jason Ware, Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Albion Financial Group.
This means over time, it may cost more to buy a new house or car.
“There could be a slowing economic effect from rising interest rates, there could be more volatility in the stock market as interest rates rise,” says Ware. “So there are definitely impacts to the average American when the Fed decides to tighten monetary policy.”
Many experts, including Ware, say the economy should decelerate by the end of 2022.
“Based on the cyclical factors, based on structural factors, based on statistical factors, the outlook for inflation is to probably begin to cool here as we work through this year and get into next year,” says Ware.
