ST. ALBANS, Vt. -
Chefs at One Federal Restaurant & Lounge in St. Albans, Vermont were busy filling lunch orders Friday.
But there's one item on the menu that has this business owner and others in the Green Mountain State worried, beef.
"The prices are definitely on the rise," said One Federal Restaurant & Lounge owner Marcus Hamblett.
"The prices have started to increase because of the drought," said The Windjammer Restaurant general manager Dan Phelan.
Corn fields in the Mid-West have been hit hard by a drought.
That means cow feed prices have gone up, which is increasing the cost of beef.
At One Federal, they haven't raised prices, but customers are paying for it in other ways.
"Portions are definitely changing. We've had to come down in size. In some of my steaks I've scaled down from a 12 ounce steak to a 10 ounce," said Hamblett.
Hamblett says things might only get worse.
"We're going to be in a situation here in six months from now where it's going to be very tender, touch and go with how much the prices are going to go up," said Hamblett.
In South Burlington, The Windjammer Restaurant hasn't changed its menu.
"We're just going to eat it until that subsides and hopefully that's sooner than later," said Phelan.
USDA officials say meat prices could rise 5% in 2013.
And if that continues, places that haven't made changes, including the windjammer, might have to.
"This is a business so we will have to re-examine, might have to re-examine some items," said Phelan.
Restaurant owners say the drought is also impacting bread, milk and other items.
To offset that, many buy local, but they say to meet demand they must buy elsewhere.
