Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Lettuce shortage strikes city

Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce.

Well, at least the lettuce. El Nino has wreaked havoc in many ways during the past year, and its latest victims are salad bowls across the Las Vegas Valley.

An abundance of rain and cold weather coupled with a transition in regions where distributors buy lettuce has led to a shortage, and price increase, of lettuce in Southern Nevada.

"It's crazy, the prices we're looking at," said Butch Gabriel, owner of One of a Kind Produce.

Green leaf and romaine lettuce have almost doubled and tripled in price, he said.

"The rains we've had the last few months have delayed plantings and what was planted and growing was flooded in the ground," Gabriel said.

At the same time, this is the time of year when buyers shift where they buy from from southern areas of the Southwest to Northern California areas that this year have been hard hit by sometimes torrential rains.

And the more expensive lettuce being shipped is of lesser quality, distributors say.

"The quality of what's out there is poor right now," said Joe Grosso, a buyer for Collins Produce.

Cartons of green leaf and romaine lettuce that usually sell from between $8 to $10 are now selling for between $40 and $50 for a 24-head carton. Moreover, produce outlets say they are having difficulty obtaining the vegetable. Gabriel said he may order 1,000 cartons and maybe only receive 50.

But the shortage isn't expected to last as freshly harvested crops make their way to market.

"We're looking at three of four weeks of this before we see any relief," Gabriel said.

Customers turned off by the going price for green leaf and romaine are turning to iceberg lettuce, Grosso said. That breed of lettuce that normally goes for $10 to $12 a carton is now selling for $20.

"It's basic supply and demand," Grosso said.

The pinch is being felt by consumers. Ernie Verso, assistant produce manager at Wild Oats East, said the price per head had risen from $1 to $1.99. He echoed the view that quality is down. The romaine is smaller than normal and the green leaf is thinner, he said.

"We've been getting them in because we don't order as much as a normal supermarket," Verso said. "They're coming in small."

Some larger grocery chains say they have yet to see a lettuce shortage.

"I haven't seen a big price increase. Not yet, anyway," said Dave Norman, assistant manager at a Vons on Charleston Boulevard. "It's selling normally."

But at places like Sonia's Cafe, the shortage is reflected in the salad prices. Owner Sonia Finkelstein said the restaurant is charging $1 extra per salad until the shortage subsides.

"We're losing money on the salads, but we can't not serve them," Finkelstein said.

She said the restaurant paid $49 for a case of lettuce Thursday and expects to pay $100 for case today.

"Our customers are very nice about it," Finkelstein said. "They like the food, so they don't complain."

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