This week on the wheelhouse.

Is inflation.

Turning your vacation into a staycation?

For Connecticut public, I'm Frankie Graziano.

This is the wheelhouse show that connects politics to the people.

We got your weekly dose of politics in Connecticut and beyond right here.

From airline tickets and hotel rooms to gas and dining out, the cost of enjoying summer can add up quickly.

And with prices rising and economic uncertainty growing, many Americans are taking a closer look at their budgets.

What do I got in the wallet before booking their summer plans?

So what are economists watching this summer?

And what can spending trends tell us about the health of our economy, both in Connecticut and across the country?

Joining me now is Mark blithe, an economist at Brown University.

There he is right there.

Mark, thank you so much for being on the wheelhouse this morning.

Pleasure to be in your wheelhouse.

Yeah.

Thank you for that, I appreciate it.

Are you reevaluating your summer plans?

Maybe everything's all right, I don't know.

Give us a call.

(888)720-9677.

We want to hear from you.

Either way, you'd also hit us up by commenting on our YouTube live stream.

Hey, Mark, in mid-May, this is a statistic that, Chloe, my producer and I wanted to point out here, the U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics published some data showing that prices have gone up.

3.8%.

I think it was year over year in, April.

That's on things like food, gasoline and electricity.

Help us contextualize that.

Is that like a big jump?

It is a pretty big jump.

The back of hope after the pandemic, inflation of 22 to 24 was there.

We kind of just go up and then it would come down and we'd be back down to around 2%.

So 40% of that big jump last month, that's the Straits of Hormuz being closed.

That's the glass effect.

On top of that you've got persistent inflation and what we call shelter, which is basically the cost of rents.

We don't build enough housing.

And part of the reason for that is because it's expensive to do.

So.

If you great statistic on this is drywall.

Drywall basically went up a third during the pandemic and never went down again.

You want to build, it's more expensive.

You want to own a home.

You got to get a mortgage.

The mortgage is more expensive.

So everyone's being squeezed right from lots of different directions.

And it looks like we're going to have higher inflation going forward pretty much as a fact of life.

That's fascinating because you're talking about the pandemic as well.

You're talking about the Strait of Hormuz.

You've got it all there.

Everything.

Everything's just pushing in the one direction.

It's pushing in the one direction.

Are there other factors that these, these prices could be attributed to?

When you say the Strait of Hormuz, the concerning thing there is that that's up in the air with a negotiation.

So, what else can you tell us about how.

Even have, opened up tomorrow?

You've lost so much supply?

The get it box is still going to be a kind of a price shot with, at least for another six months.

Other things that are doing this, we have a very different immigration policy than the United States.

No, that means a lot more deportations of people who do things like take the food out of the fields and put it into stores.

So when you lose those agricultural workers, then your produce is going to get more expensive.

We've got large parts of the country in drought, almost permanent drought.

Climate change is a factor that's increasingly feeding into food prices and other commodities.

So yeah, basically everything's heading up, but it's not pleasant.

Hey, what the heck is a k-shaped economy for somebody who's a who's the ultimate layman like I am?

Help me, help me out with the k-shaped economy and why we're hearing a lot about that right now.

So here's a way to think about it.

Right.

If you shop at Whole Foods, you don't really care about inflation because you've been overpaying for your groceries by about 30% your whole life.

If you're shopping at the dollar store and things go up by 5%, you really feel it.

And the K-shaped economy refers to the fact that the top 20% of the people in the United States basically spend over 40% of all spending.

So they're the ones that are driving and they're the ones at the top that have the money, and they're the ones that are spending it.

What is the bottom 60%?

Spend as much as the top 20%.

So it's very uneven.

And when you have an inflationary shock across that, the people in the bottom 60% really feel that much more than $1.20 percent.

Now, why is this a concern going forward.

Because but then not top 20%, the top 20% are the ones that are really taken off with AI stocks and all the rest the gains in the markets.

If there's a big market shock, those people stop spending.

That means spending and the economy goes down a lot, a lot more than you would think just from that share of the population.

So that's something that we worry about having that kind of inequality where spending is concentrated in very few pockets.

So we're still having spending though some level of spending.

So there's still the sticker shock there, but people are still spending it.

What you're kind of telling me is that if people stop spending, it gets even worse.

Yeah, you think it might slow it down, but in fact, that just leads to another set of problems.

The economy slows down.

At the same time, you still got all these, but there's pushing on costs.

You get that kind of bog problem of unemployment going up and at the same time inflation being sticky.

And again, if you're in the bottom half of the income distribution, that's where it hurts most.

So we talked about, negotiations being up in the air with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz and other things that are being negotiated there in politics, here with the, with the US and, and foreign relations.

But, that's one thing that you said that that's up in the air and it may take some time, but is there any end in sight here?

You talked about six months of sticker shock.

Perhaps afterwards.

Just help us understand how long it can take to get over this.

And if there's a range of time.

Well, you know, there's a positive sign in this as well, which is, the JOLTS report that just came out was double the size that people expected.

So the labor market is strong, which means that most people are actually seeing some kind of wage gains to offset the inflation.

And the real track on this is if you get a strong enough growth in the economy and strong enough job market, if your wages are going up by 3%, inflation falls to 2.9.

You're ahead.

Right.

So basically you want wages to basically keep up with or surpass the inflation rate.

We're not there yet, but there's no reason why we couldn't be.

But it's going to take a little while with all these shocks that we've been had with.

So Covid, we talked about the cost of drywall going drywall going up.

And I remember eggs.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

Some of these inflationary prices, not, changing amid Covid in 2022, the inflation rate hit 9.1%.

Is the current economic landscape hurting the average American right now, in part because many are still reeling from that?

I think that's the case.

I mean, you know, a lot of the attention went on, the fact that a bunch of people got those stimulus checks.

But if you look at what those stimulus checks were spent on, it was mainly back rent and credit card reduction.

They were the two biggest items.

So it's not as if people were taking this stuff and having a party on.

It took a while for the labor market to adjust for people's wages, particularly the bottom 2,040%.

People who work in a lot of services, people who work in restaurants, etc.

for that to come back.

So there's been a lot of what labor economist would call scarring in the market.

But at the same time, actual job growth, despite all the stories about AI replacing everyone has actually been really strong.

All right.

So I might have my job here at Connecticut Public here for a little while.

You are never replaceable, my friend, right.

Not.

Not as much as you are.

I will tell you that.

Let me just say it because you're helping, a layman like myself understand the economy here.

What role does the federal government have in bringing inflation down?

We talked so much about the Inflation Reduction Act.

The last time around, when we had President Biden, in office.

And then, of course, there was an effort to quickly overturn, the Inflation Reduction Act by the new Trump administration.

So help us understand if anything can be done right now by the federal government, maybe even the executive branch, the president, to help the average American out financially.

You mentioned the stimulus.

I don't know if something like that helps.

What can you tell us?

Yeah, I it's so it's different now in the sense that you're not just trying to compensate for Covid, which we've never seen before.

I mean, people have to remember what this was.

We were saying to 80% of people in the labor market, go home and just hang out indefinitely, and we're definitely not in that world anymore.

So what is it the federal government can do?

Well, this is the conflict that you read about between the Federal Reserve and the federal government.

So President Trump wants to run the economy halt.

He basically wants low rates.

You want strong job growth.

He just basically wants to let it go.

But if you do this and the government is currently running a deficit and spending more than it takes out of about 6%, you usually see those types of things in wartime or when the economy has been bad.

There's a lot of money flowing into the systems, a lot of spend going on, and that's pushing up prices.

And the Federal Reserve's job is to make prices not go up.

And they do that with interest rates, which is why he had a whole conflict going on with their own bubble.

On why the new chair is going to be interesting to see what he does, because traditionally, a fed chair at this point would raise rates to pull down the economy.

We'll see how this plays out.

Maybe Warsh is going to be more sympathetic to what Trump wants to do.

But if he gets the argument goes, you're just going to see prices going higher and he's going to have to Jack them up even more later on.

Yeah, and it's not just as simple as pressing a button and saying we're going to do the prices or excuse me, the, the the rate at this day, today and tomorrow.

Right.

It's not like that ever done.

So I mean, basically they have to conduct what they call monetary operations.

They basically move short term interest rates around.

It takes time to feed through the system and ultimately you don't want to do this too much.

I mean, mortgages are already crazy expensive for people.

Do you really want to do it again and kind of put the housing market in a deep freeze?

Is that the policy objective?

And obviously it's not.

But they want to do something about inflation.

How might the current economic landscape impact Americans ability to take their summer vacations this year?

Is that something people like me in the media are asking you about the last couple of weeks?

Yeah, it's particularly poignant for me, and probably to my accent.

I'm from Scotland, a few miles up the road from me.

Foxboro Stadium is what Scotland's going to be playing in the World.

Cup against Haiti, right.

Against Haiti.

Yeah, that's the guy.

The guys who run this thing, FIFA, are trying to basically make everyone pay $2,000 for a ticket, which is just that's the biggest source of personal inflation that I've been hit with.

So yes, it's expensive out there.

You know, when you've got these bigger events like the World Cup, when hotel rooms are in demand, etc., you're already going to see sort of like, you know, prices going up as companies try and take advantage of this.

I will try to fly back from the UK basically second week of the World Cup.

Oh my goodness.

The prices were outrageous on airlines because they know that they're going to just pack these seats into whatever price.

So yeah, this summer's going to be a real test of people's budgets and also their patience and whether they're going to be able to put up with the stuff.

People seeing how expensive it is to go to the World Cup.

Yet somebody like you still going to drive up the road to Foxborough, maybe, and still go see the game.

So maybe people aren't going to cancel their vacations.

What are you hearing?

Well, that only sound like me.

I'm just going to watch it again in Providence in the fan zone.

I'm sorry.

Oh okay.

2000 bucks.

So you know, what are you going to do?

I mean, there's always alternatives to this.

And and the staycation thing, I mean, something interesting about Americans is they don't actually take much vacation when you compare them to other countries.

Americans work longer hours than everyone else.

They tend to take their vacations and bite sized chunks rather than long vacations.

So, you know, it's, you can go off season, you can go at a different time a year.

You don't have to do it exactly in the peak season.

There's ways to accommodate and I'm sure people will.

Fascinating.

I'm very interested and it's also maybe a shot into the Rhode Island economy if Mark Blythe doesn't go to, Foxborough, but instead he goes to Two Rivers Casino or something like that to watch the game.

That's exactly this is going to be about $20 actual expenditure and be me.

Hey, are there any actions you'd recommend people take now to prevent their families from falling into a financial crisis in the next few months or years?

Free financial advice here on Connecticut Public.

We are public media.

What's, over here?

So I don't know, not necessarily financial advice, but give us an idea of, of steps that maybe people could take, maybe something they should buy right now or shouldn't buy, or something they should watch, or maybe somewhere they should shop.

What do you think?

Well, I can do something like that.

You should shop because I can't actually give a financial advice.

Of course, I don't have a current series six, and so let's not do that.

Right.

But, I mean, basically, I think there's great values to be had and basically altering the places you shop and really trying to like, figure out where the best deals are.

I love Aldi, I think Aldi is the best supermarket in the world and the prices are unbeatable.

Also, you got that crazy middle aisle where you walk down and they just sell the most random stuff in the world.

So it's almost like a day out.

So I recommend all of our Whole Foods and basically try and buy you the gas the cheapest place you can.

And every time you can, when you think of cheap another lot, there's not much we can do.

We're all in this together.

Does Aldi have the World Cup paraphernalia there?

Do they have some kind of contract?

I've seen it everywhere.

I don't even at the Family Dollar.

And then, it will be discounted over what everyone else gets.

That's what they do.

Hey, best of luck to the Scots in the World Cup.

We're watching for you.

My, my, my Italia didn't make it, unfortunately.

Very sad ending, but nonetheless, we'll be.

You keep doing that.

That's really what you got to get your act together.

Yeah.

Four time world champions, I guess.

I guess that's going to have to take a staycation itself for a little bit.

Mark Blyth, economist at Brown University.

So great to have you on the show.

I have a feeling I'll be calling you again one of these months soon.

Not a problem anytime you like.

Thank you so much.

After the break, we'll shift from the national economic picture to Connecticut's tourism industry.

Hey, we're talking about staycations.

Maybe Connecticut is a great place to staycation.

We'll talk to Rachel and about that shortly.

How are you feeling the economic heat this summer?

Is inflation changing your travel plans?

This is the wheelhouse from Connecticut Public Radio.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

Despite economic uncertainty, summer is a critical season for Connecticut's tourism industry.

Visitors flock to the state for strolls through downtown mystic and a chance to wander around Stonington, quaint village right by the sea.

Right down there.

In southern Connecticut, a hot lobster roll in hand.

But with many households keeping a close eye on spending, what does this summer look like for tourism?

Rachel Linda is the director of tourism for Connecticut's Department of Economic and Community Development.

Rachel, thank you so much for being here.

Good morning Frankie.

Thanks for having me on the wheelhouse.

That's right.

So great to see you this morning.

Out and about in Connecticut, getting ready for the summer here.

Only about a week away.

A lot of excitement, folks.

Rising costs influencing your summer vacation plans hit us up.

If they're not and you're excited about summer, you want to talk all about it?

You got to be quick.

Tell us about places you're going to get a lobster roll in Connecticut, or ways you're going to spend your money here.

(888)720-9677.

Hey, Rachel, we're entering the peak summer vacation season.

How important is vacation and tourism for Connecticut's economy?

Well, first of all, vacationing is important for every human being.

Because I don't know about you, but, you know, I work to live, not live to work.

So I think, Hey, man.

Sister, you know what I'm saying?

So I think it's really important that, you know, the residents of Connecticut all around, you know, the small business owners who are who are sort of clutching their wallets right now and tightening up their budgets and understanding, you know, what's happening out there is that, there are some challenges to travel this summer.

But, you know, Frankie, I'm a positive Pauly by nature.

I can help it.

But the outlook for Connecticut this summer really is neutral to positive as far as, you know, visitation coming into Connecticut.

You know, so we follow some studies, mostly, tourism, economics, longwood's international.

Those are tried and true data resources that give us information on, you know, so how to look into our crystal ball and look into the future and see, you know, what we can expect for travel trends.

And right now, at the end of April 2026, a Longwood study released said that, gas prices are now the number one, biggest limiting factor to travel.

So 33% of travelers identified gas prices as a single, largest, decision impacting their travel.

And airfare was right behind at 32%.

As a result of that, the shifts are looking like 41% are choosing destinations closer to home, 36% are reducing the number of trips they take, and 35% are reducing spending on entertainment and recreation.

So don't clutch your pearls.

Don't get so scared about that.

Those numbers.

Because Connecticut's positioning right?

Right in between Boston in New York, we have a draw of roughly 27 million people that can come in and out of Connecticut that do come in and out of Connecticut.

So again, our outlook is neutral, a positive, because for this type of conversation, our size is actually one of our best advantages.

And our, geographic positioning because we're.

Before we keep talking about this year, future IRA, I'm talking about positive policies here because I'm hearing some messaging, national Radio where they say, hey, this year it's gas prices.

Last year was tariffs.

Did, we this is a good, good study.

And I know I might not have prepared you for this, but just off the top of your head, did you have that same concern last year about tariffs and was there any overall impact?

I remember reaching out last year to you all about people from Canada traveling here because of of tariffs, like did it actually have like a big impact overall from your from your thoughts.

So so my I think in other New England states.

Yes very much the Canadian, you know, between the tariffs and the political climate, you know, it certainly did have an impact, especially my friends up in Maine.

But Connecticut, you know, we're we're not a top market for Canada.

I think the shoreline does feel a hit from it.

For Canadians.

But yes, you know, it seems like I don't know about you, but every year there's sort of something that's coming out where it's like, hey, we got to watch out for this.

The nuts and bolts of it is that no matter what people need and craves human connection, they crave travel.

They crave to get out and see the world and to have recreation.

And that is never going to change.

They're just going to change the way that they do it and the experiences they have.

So I think that that is, again, a positive thing to think about that, you know, I don't know about you, but, you know, I'm not traveling big this summer, but I am I've got a pontoon boat.

I keep it on.

Gardiner.

Looks like I'm going to be out on the lake.

Gardiner Lake, a great place to be.

And now that I know that you're out there, I think I'm going to jump there.

I'll, I'll bring something, but I'm going to be out excited on that pontoon boat.

Hey, you do you expect tourists to get creative this year?

Maybe they're going to keep their vacations, but perhaps look for experiences that won't break the bank.

You were talking about those 41% that were like, hey, there's the gas prices.

So no, maybe I'll shift my plans and maybe I'll stay more local.

Imagining you're attracted to that group?

Yes.

Very much.

The other thing to consider, too, is that Connecticut has a really great rail system.

You know, if you're talking about to, you know, enjoying the journey and not just the destination, you know, any time I have to go to Stamford or Greenwich or down there, I take the train right out of New Haven, and I get right into, that other side of the state.

I don't have to sit in traffic.

I don't have to fill up my gas tank.

And the other thing, too, is Connecticut is home to some of the most EV charging stations per square mile.

So if you're a Tesla driver or, an electric vehicle driver, you're going to be able to get much farther in Connecticut because of how many charging stations there are.

In addition to that, you know, we've got our proximity, right.

So think about on the winter time, you can go from skiing and then go take your dog and go to the beach all within an hour.

You know, those are some geographical positives that not a lot of places have.

So you can literally do it all here in Connecticut.

And, I think that's one of our best advantages.

Is your office thinking about the rise in staycation in any way.

So like, I imagine that's ultimately a good thing for Connecticut, but are you trying to capitalize on it in any way?

Yeah, for sure.

So Connecticut has always been home to sort of the weekend warrior getaway.

You know, the biggest uptick we see in visitation is Thursday night through, departure on Sunday.

So what we can anticipate is shorter getaways, perhaps more frequent getaways.

And the other thing, too, about Connecticut is that a lot of travelers coming into Connecticut, from the data that we see, they're actually staying with friends and family, along with staying at short term rentals and hotels.

And right now, the positioning, you know, we use subscribe to STR with Smith Travel research.

And that shows us hotel occupancy.

And out of all of the New England states, including New York, Connecticut still remains strong in our occupancy, which is, which is a great bonus for all of those, lodging attractions in and around the state that they're still getting booked and there's still a desire to come out the data showing positive.

Okay.

That's good.

Positive, poorly on the economy.

I make that, but speaking about the economy, is there something uniquely, advantageous about Connecticut in our position right now?

Are we doing better on inflation or worse than some of our neighboring states?

Well, you know, there's an old adage about Connecticut, right, that we're we're an expensive state to live in.

And, you know, you get what you pay for, right?

We've got one of the best health care systems in the country.

We've got one of the best public educational systems in the country.

It's one of the safest states in the country.

So I think when you think about travel, in that sense, those are the types of things that attract people to come in and feel like if something happens, I'm going to be okay and I can enjoy myself.

Are they going to stay, you know, at a five star hotel if they don't necessarily have the budget for it?

Probably not.

They're going to stay.

Maybe they're going to go camping instead.

Maybe they're going to try a brand new experience that their family's ever done before, maybe renting an RV and going to an RV park.

And I think that what we're doing in our office is we're giving people the information to make those informed decisions by showing them everything that they can do.

In addition to that, we're really focusing on content to get out both on CT visit and our social about what's borderline free and affordable.

And we find that that content actually, performs the best.

And who can blame them, right?

I always look at free things to do with my four year old, you know, I love my my town of Colchester.

I've got a splash pad right here that's free, and I can go in and hose her down and go on the playground and and head south.

Right.

Get that SPF 70 and all that liquid, magma.

All over them there.

Hey, I think it's also our job when we talk about camping, to kind of give people an idea of where to go.

I think you got the devil's Hop yard and Moodys, right?

That's a it's a place people go camping.

North Stonington, it's got a playground.

Give me some ermine, a campground.

Get me some other ones.

Yes, yes, one.

Off the top of your head, maybe.

Oh, absolutely.

So, Rocky Next State park?

Yeah.

Is an institution.

You can camp, you can go on the beach.

Also, I am a big fan of patch org State Forest, which is out in eastern Connecticut.

Griswold, I grew up camping at Holtville Pond State Park.

And also, you've got other places.

Oh.

Isn't it?

It's one of the largest lakes in the state.

And then, you know, if you go in the other side of the state, you've got, you know, Kent Falls, you've got Litchfield County.

That whole area is absolutely stunning.

White pines and bark, Hampstead.

Oh, the camping, ground as well.

Stunning.

Now we're just flexing here.

Now we're just flexing for Connecticut residents here.

But as we finish up here, is there is there anything that Connecticut business owners could do right now to ensure that visitors have a fun and affordable time in our state?

Is there anything you're saying to people that might be clutching their wallets?

Yes, absolutely.

So the first thing I want to mention is this Saturday, June 13th is going to be Connecticut's 22nd annual open House day, and open House day is a yearly tradition where businesses, attractions, museums, art institutions, they open their doors and they offer discounted ticket prices.

They offer free giveaways.

They do sort of do a little bit of everything.

And if you're looking to get out this Saturday and enjoy something very wallet friendly, you want to go on to CT, visit.com and you want to check out the Connecticut Open House day.

In addition to that, I would recommend that, you know, their people travel because they, they want to feel something new and they also want to be where the people are.

I feel like I'm quoting, Ariel in The Little Mermaid right now.

But they want to be, you know, it's almost like FOMO, right?

And what I tell business owners is, if I'm going to Stonington and I'm checking out, you know, Dubois Beach, Dubois beach, you know, and and I'm talking to a local.

I want to know where the local gets their cup of coffee.

I want to know where, where they go and get their lobster roll.

So the best advice that I have is that if you want your community to remain strong with visitation and to have that influx, you know, albeit within moderation, we have to be welcoming and warm to everybody.

We have to, you know, these are people who are opening their wallets to us.

And these small businesses have families that, you know, you're spending that money to put their kids in ballet class.

You know, it's your friends and your neighbors.

So being kind and being welcoming and being a welcoming community, I think is is really important.

You know, I can market all day long to get people to come in to Connecticut, but it's up to the communities to create that loyalty.

How are communities across the state rising to the challenge of care, creating experiences for families that won't put them in debt, and towns, are they offering more free or affordable options for visitors?

Do you have any examples you want to share for us?

Yes, I do.

So, so what I love is, you know, constantly in our industry in Connecticut, we talk about collaboration and we talk about how, you know, you've got David standards coming up next.

Right?

He's a James Beard Award winning chef.

Or, you know, he has a James Beard order, chef.

He's up for a really big award, national.

But it's getting people like him in to, then tell people to go down to the Mystic Museum of Modern Art and then go to the seaport and sort of have that communal recommendation where a trip to his restaurant now just turned into 4 to 5 hours within a mystic.

And that's how you gain momentum with having people fall in love with your community.

Because let's face it, once people get here, they feel like they're in a hallmark movie set.

You know, it's it's a gorgeous state.

And, you know, we're New Englanders.

We're, you know, we're a bunch of Yankees.

We're we're direct, but we're very nice.

Were nice people.

And, I think that's a great advantage.

So I think for businesses, it's collaborating.

It's getting, together to say, hey, what are you doing this weekend?

Are you hosting any specials?

It's maybe it's keeping your business open a little later, or putting some live music out in front of your restaurant, or it's, offering you know, during your hours where you're trying to get more people in, maybe a happy hour special and, and putting that on social.

And I can't emphasize enough how important it is to work with content creators and social media and, making sure that you're getting your information out on those platforms, because that is truly how people are finding you right now.

In, and and making sure your websites are up to date, because that's how the crawlers of AI are finding you, when they're helping people discover their next trip.

Maybe.

Yeah, maybe you got to hit up dame drops or a sister snacking or something like that to.

Yeah.

Get your contact list.

Yeah, I read Get Coffee Club.

There's a bunch of great ones.

You say we're all nice here in Connecticut.

Yeah, but as the as that.

Wow.

As the wallets tighten, we maybe get a little hot under the collar as we're behind the wheel of a car like you are right now.

But how does your office assess the success of a summer season?

This will be my last question for you.

Is there anything you're going to be tracking over the next few months that we could ask you about, maybe in September or even next June?

Yes.

So my recommendation is to ask me next June, because, we subscribe to a yearly study by Tourism Economics, and that really shows us the health sort of of where, we are.

As far as visitation, how much tax dollars our industry has put towards the coffers and how much the actual industry is worth.

And right now, Connecticut's tourism economy is worth, industry is worth $20 billion, and, it houses over 125,000 jobs.

And, you know, it's one point, I believe 1.3 billion to state and local taxes.

That is makes the tourism industry in Connecticut one of the strongest industries that we have.

So it's important for, for people to understand that, you know, it's this is the bread, right?

This is how you get your bread.

This is how you get you know, your your money in the bank.

So, I would encourage everybody to take a look at that.

And we also next June we'll get that new report.

And we just know by, geographic data based off of arrival lists, which is this really cool software that allows us to ping cell phones depending on where people are, over 18 and domestic travelers.

But because of that, we know that April through October, those are the strongest months.

So focusing on in those months is sort of like, you know, we've we've been prepping all winter for this, and now it's time to perform like, it's it's showtime, baby.

It's time to go out there and put our best foot forward, put our smiles on and, you know, create some memories.

We're all in the memory making business.

Every time somebody takes a bite of a lobster roll in Connecticut, somebody within the Connecticut Department of Economics and Development or Community Development gains their wings.

I feel like it's going to be a special time.

I just like that alliteration that Chloe wrote in our open there.

So that's why I wanted to shout that out.

But it is a very special time and it is busy season, so get out there.

Rachel.

Congratulations on the advent of summer here in Connecticut.

You've been listening to Rachel Landa, director of tourism for the Office of Statewide Marketing and Tourism.

Great to have you on the show.

Thank you so much, Frankie.

Get out there and explore Connecticut.

Oh, you know, I will.

And I'm going to tell everybody about it too.

After the after the break, we'll hear from Connecticut business owners about economic uncertainty and what they're doing to adapt.

How are you sweating through the economic heat this summer?

Hit us up, comment on our YouTube live stream or give us a call (888)720-9677.

There's more wheelhouse where that came from.

Next on Connecticut Public.

This is the wheelhouse from Connecticut public.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

Whether you're heading to the shoreline, stopping at a summer festival or spending a weekend in mystic, food is often part of the experience.

But for businesses serving you, rising costs mean a reality.

From seafood and cooking oil to food, fuel and labor, restaurant food truck owners are constantly balancing expenses while trying to keep customers coming back.

Joining us now are two people with different perspectives on Connecticut's food scene.

David Standridge, chef and owner of The Shipwrights Daughter in mystic.

David, thank you so much for being here.

Thanks for having me.

Happy to talk about this.

So great to have you here.

Also James Beard, award winning chef as well.

And Paul Brault is the owner of Lobster Tails Food Truck.

Paul, thank you so much for being here.

Thanks for having me.

Look, it's going to be fun.

Yeah.

And it's looking good out there.

I'm seeing the sun behind you here.

I'm excited.

Hey, hey, for those people that, don't know about lobster tails, food truck, can you tell us a little bit about the business and what you serve and where we might see you as well?

Absolutely.

So, we started Lobster Tails, and in 2019, we started it out with a rented truck and, did very well with it.

And 21, we bought a trailer very, busy as well.

Moves all throughout the state.

Extremely busy again.

Bought a, a second truck and, moves throughout the state, goes to, Rhode Island, goes into mass down to Stamford, Greenwich, all over.

And then we bought a, 80 year old hot dog stand up in Windsor, Connecticut.

And that's where we're based out of right now.

So the trucks sit there and, yeah, moves throughout the state.

So we sell, lobster rolls, CT style number one, and, all the different seafood mixes for those.

People that don't know what CT style is, would you quickly indulge them on what CT style lobster.

Roll is?

CT style is, hot with butter and, and then the other choice out there would be, Maine style cold with mayonnaise.

The scales are tipped in our favor with, over 80% salmon with hot butter.

Wow, that's a good statistic.

You guys are have an 80% sales of hot butter.

Hey, Summer is a crucial season for Connecticut tourism.

What does this time of year mean to your business?

I know that April through October probably pretty important for you.

Lobster tails.

Extremely important.

You know, we we kick off, our season usually Mother's day is our, first jump into the season where it's, extremely busy day.

We typically we have one truck that, sets up the restaurant up in Windsor, and our second one usually goes to a vineyard.

We typically go to Roseville.

Bianca and, Lyons all day long there.

And then from there, it kicks off through the rest of the year.

We go to, wineries, breweries, a lot of corporate parties, they like to celebrate with what's better to celebrate than with lobster rolls?

And, that's typically what our summer looks like.

Going to a lot of corporate and private events.

David, I just said James Beard Award winner.

That carries a lot of weight.

That's going to be an easy sticker to put on the website and get people to come to the restaurant.

Becoming one of Connecticut's destination restaurants.

Is the summer season especially busy for you, too?

It is we're I mean, I think since we won that award, we've been busy all year long, more or less.

So, summer is still like a ratchet up of business, for the town of mystic in general.

And we certainly get a lot busier and have to adapt to higher volume.

We're hearing that prices are going up across the board on this show here today.

As a restaurant owner, what course have been the most challenging to manage.

Since the pandemic?

Everything has gone up really.

Nothing has not gone up.

Labor was the biggest issue.

I know.

One of the other speakers was saying that restaurants took a while to catch up, but that's not really true.

Restaurants that I'm on and you had to pay for dishwashers and cooks went up immediately.

Independent damage because so many people got out of the business and it never really goes down.

So, you know, it's gone up 30, 40% really in some cases, what you have to pay hourly rates for, for skilled labor, every ingredient has gone up pretty high.

We're lucky and we're because we are so focused on local that, I that's my recommendation for everybody to look into buying more locally, because a lot of those costs with inflation don't necessarily go up when you're buying something from down the street.

The fuel costs all the different layers of, of, of transport that have to get ingredients to the restaurant.

Just don't go up as much.

So we've had a lot more stability in the prices of our local ingredients.

Is that the vantage for for you being down in mystic at some other providers, if they're across the state, they're going to have to truck their stuff and pay more fuel costs.

Is it nice to be right next to the ocean there?

Certainly for seafood.

And the local seafood is generally less expensive anyway.

And we are.

We like a lot of fun under underutilized species, which are much less expensive to begin with.

So we have a little bit of an advantage there.

But if you're somewhere in the middle of the state of Connecticut, you're probably closer to a lot of farms.

And so certainly local vegetables would be able to come to you cheaper.

Sometimes chickens and, and other proteins that you can get locally.

So that's definitely even during the pandemic, we had a thing where chickens went through the roof and they were running out of meat in supermarkets, but our local providers were still able to provide it at the same cost.

Paul, anyone who runs a food business is constantly balancing costs.

What are some of the biggest expenses you keep an eye on these days?

So naturally, you know, the biggest cost going to, restaurants are always, cost of goods and labor.

Those are the two things that, you know, always have to keep an eye on.

You always have to keep your eye on those two, two numbers and, everything else.

You know, fuel is in there when, going through the pandemic and, gas prices were over $5.

You know, we have a diesel truck that was, I think, over $6 at one point.

There was one point where we were spending over $1,000 a week just on fuel charges.

So, yeah, those are huge expenses.

Going back to, you know, early, early to mid pandemic, you know, that's when lobster prices were probably at its highest points, and you couldn't even get your, your hands on it.

So our, our number one selling thing is, is something I couldn't even put my hands on at one point.

The big thing I want to point to there is fuel because I'm thinking about you said diesel truck.

You got two trucks.

You got to also bring in your your supply, I would imagine, or have somebody bring you the, the your food as well.

And then you got to fuel up the Jenny.

Right.

So like help me understand how you are particularly impacted by gas prices being on the rise.

So, you know, gas prices, you know, they picked up again, you know, since that, that pandemic time, fortunately, a lot of the, the places that we do go to, a lot of them have installed the electricity that we would need to, to plug into a lot of the buildings.

So one of our, one of our favorite breweries that we go to is, hops on the hill.

They installed a, electricity that we can plug into.

So that's always helps that that part of the process.

But again, yes.

You know, filling up the diesel, filling up the, we have a pickup truck that moves our trailer around and filling up those generators.

You're definitely going to be spending, more for those those things.

Propane is another one that just jumped up on me.

So, you know, when you're filling up 100 gallons of propane, that's.

It's a big deal.

Hops on the hill, in Glastonbury.

I wouldn't know that because I've never been there before.

For those of you that can't see me winking on the air right now, I have been there.

Maybe too many times.

Helping your.

A pilsner was an interesting choice there at the hops on the Hill, but, nonetheless, it's important that you're here, talking to us about those costs here.

Are customers approaching restaurant spending right now, David, differently than they were a few years ago?

Maybe even since they were in December or January?

Yeah, I think we've seen a little bit of sort of.

We've got smaller tickets in the kitchen.

We're still like the volume is definitely still there.

I think I agree that people are always going to eat out, when they're on their vacations, and the volume in town is definitely.

So they're actually much busier than last year.

But I definitely think that average spend is probably is probably about the same.

What I found is, generally speaking, in these times when when expenses go up, you want to raise prices, you can raise prices, but people are going to spend what they're comfortable spending on their meal.

So if the prices are lower, they might get some like a larger order or more expensive bottle of wine.

If the prices go higher, their orders get a little smaller.

They just go a little lighter.

So the average check tends to stay about the same.

But I definitely have noticed a little bit of, a softening of of how extravagant people want to be on one end.

Then you have people who it's in their budget to spend whatever they want, and they want the tasting menu with caviar, and they're going to do it.

What's going to make you feel better about the economy being, in the position that it is, or any kind of trauma that you might be feeling right now in the world.

Right.

Food.

Yeah.

Wine?

Vino.

You know what I mean?

So, like lobster roll.

These are things that are going to help you feel better.

And as somebody who is indulgent as I am, especially because of mental health issues and things like that, food does make you feel better.

Hey, what about you, Paul?

Have you noticed customers making different choices when it comes to buying your food compared to a few years ago?

Are you still getting the same interest in having events as maybe a few years ago?

Or maybe even December or January?

It's a different point that we want to point to as well.

So, you know, good, good point to and I agree that, people are comfortable where they're spending, and what they're spending for, the, the price point, I think is what people are coming in on.

So if they're not as comfortable, they might order a shrimp roll instead of a lobster roll or, you know, that price point might fit them and still make them feel satisfied about having that seafood.

But in general, people that are coming up and buying a lobster roll, they kind of know it's a big ticket item.

There is a, you know, we we were at a mother's day, I think it was last year.

And, a guy was a carpenter, and he ordered, over.

I think it was like 12 lobster rolls.

And my wife was in the window, and she goes, I'm not sure if I want to tell you how much this is going to be.

And, and the guy and the guy looked at her and he goes, I'm a carpenter.

The price of wood has gone up, I understand.

And when my wife wants a lobster roll, she's going to get a lobster roll.

So I think people, erred in their head when they what they know what they're going to spend.

And, you know, there's definitely the person out there that has a sticker shock of like, oh my goodness.

But in general, I think people know what they're going to get.

And especially if you have a good reputation for giving good quality products.

And I think that that overcomes a lot of the fearfulness of when somebody orders a lobster roll and, you know, they spent a good amount of money on it and they have one claw and and it wasn't satisfying to them.

So I think if you give them a good quality product, then people are going to be happy with what they got.

That's a great comment.

And in this case, I'll take the carpenter's word for it.

David, you've been doing this for a while.

What have you learned about staying flexible when conditions change?

So like you hear the news, maybe there's going to be some kind of event happening in the Middle East or a conflict.

Right?

Or you're hearing about prices being on the rise, or you buy something and it's a lot more expensive than it was the week before.

What does David Standridge to do at that point where does your brain activate what happens?

Well, you know, it's actually really hard to be flexible in restaurants because people are used to you doing a certain thing a certain way.

And so when when there's these shocks that go through the system, you would think, oh, let me change my menu and do different products, but that doesn't really fly.

So I think it does take quite a lot a long time to kind of restructure the machine a little bit.

I think what we've done here in Connecticut is we just have a very flexible experience.

That's always our experience.

So we have a really, high end tasting menu.

You can do we have an al carte menu with a very big variety of prices.

We do a happy hour.

You can have a lot of different experiences and still come to the restaurant.

And I think it's more about being flexible on me every day than trying to be, react to to the situations.

Because what happens is things change so, so fast.

The Strait of Hormuz could open up tomorrow and then, like now, you're in a different situation.

The stock market goes up and down, people's spending changes or attitudes change, and you really kind of want to just try the best you can to stay consistent and give a lot of people different options and be available.

But I really think actually, another point that was brought up that was really interesting is that people are looking for a good experience.

I find a lot of people are saying they're coming here because I only have so much money to spend on dining out.

I want to make sure I get a good meal.

I don't want to take a risk on a new place and that kind of thing.

Paul, as you look ahead, what gives you confidence about the future of Connecticut's food scene?

It's funny you say it's, I think it's ever growing.

It's ever evolving.

I think if you're keeping up with, you know, watching how the market is moving, I myself, I'm opening up a couple more restaurants this year.

Regulations.

Thank you.

So, there's always going to be the demand.

There's always going to be the demand for food, good dining experience.

And for me, you know, as long as you are giving the, the customer service first, good quality food, you're always going to be able to be in a strong business.

And however the the costs are coming in, if they're fair.

Then you're going to do well in business.

It's, it's the one when you're, you're gouging is is really the problem.

So if you're giving good quality service, you're giving good quality food, you're never going to have a problem.

And I've been doing it for a long time.

Paul Brault is the owner of Lobster Tails Food Truck, based in Windsor, but you can go online to find them as well, and where you can have some of these corporate events and where they're going to be at breweries and wineries locally.

Thank you for being here, Paul.

Thank you for having me.

And David Standridge, chef and owner of the Shipwrights Daughter in mystic, right there next to the bascule bridge in Mystic on Main Street.

Thank you for joining us today.

Thank you for having me today.

Show produced by Chloe Wynn, edited by Patrick Scahill.

Great thanks to Eugene Amber.

True to go to CT public.org/election right now.

Fill out our election survey.

Keep up with the wheelhouse.

Help us cover midterm elections.

This is the wheelhouse I'm Frankie Graziano.

See you next week.