NYC bodega owner forced to raise prices as inflation soars: 'Very frustrated'
Brooklyn bodega owner Carmelia Bello joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the impact inflation has had on running a small business.
A New York City bodega owner details why she is "very frustrated" with the Biden administration as inflation continues to soar, making it even more challenging to keep the lights on in her store.
Carmelia Bello, who owns a Brooklyn bodega, joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss how soaring inflation has impacted her ability to stay in business as consumer prices continue to rise.
"[I am] very frustrated, and I'm calling to those people out there because we're coming out from COVID, and we're not getting the support that we should get from the bigger administration, from the people that really get the money," Bello told co-host Todd Piro.
"Because we didn't get SBA loan, we didn't get no PPP loan, we didn't get enough support," she continued. "So I'm asking myself what happened to those big people, those big foundation people that can support small businesses like me?"
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A gas pump displays the price of fuel at a gas station in McLean, Virginia, June 10, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Bello has been forced to raise the price on her staple bacon, egg and cheese sandwich to offset the rising costs.
Despite the price hike, she is still feeling the pinch with overhead expenses like rent. She insisted landlords are not "feeling the pressure" of tenants.
"They're not feeling the pressure we feel because we're not making the money to pay them," Bello said. "We're not making the money to even buy groceries like before. I'm turning my store into more [of] a fast food store than a grocery convenience store."
"[I] cannot have groceries on the shelf anymore because you go to [the] restaurant depo to buy, and you don't find the items," she continued. "Or when you get the items, they're triple the price. So how are you going to sell them?"
Americans have been battling soaring prices at the grocery store and at the gas pump as inflation sits at a 40-year-high.
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The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points this week to combat the surge, but despite conflicting definitions of a "recession," the White House insists it is not inevitable.
The GDP report is expected to be released Thursday and will indicate whether the U.S. has endured two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, which has been a historic determination of a recession.
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