The top of an iconic Philadelphia cheesesteak restaurant says he could also be compelled to boost the value of his $13.49 sandwich — a prospect that would alienate his loyal clients who might be requested to bear the burden of hovering beef costs.
“I really hate to do that,” Ken Silver, the president of Jim’s South St., a Philadelphia establishment identified for its cheesesteaks, instructed the Related Press when requested about elevating menu costs.
“Our strategy right now is just absorbing the price and hoping that we see a reduction after the summer months are over, the grilling season and all the rest,” Silver stated.
Silver stated he’s additionally contemplating a “market price” technique whereby cheesesteaks and different menu gadgets can be listed with out a mounted price, permitting the restaurant to regulate the value primarily based on present ingredient prices which are topic to produce fluctuations.
Beef costs within the US have been steadily rising for years, however the tempo of improve has accelerated because the pandemic, pushed by a shrinking cattle provide, excessive manufacturing prices and chronic shopper demand.
For Silver, whose father based the enterprise in 1976, that has meant paying $1 extra per pound for beef than he did a yr in the past — on high of a roughly 50% leap in costs in 2024.
Silver’s cheesesteaks presently promote for $13.49, up from $11.49 in 2022, when the enterprise was compelled to close down for practically two years following a fireplace.
The favored sandwich, sometimes made with thinly sliced beef, cheese and onions, stays a staple in Philadelphia’s meals scene.
“Crazy,” he referred to as it. Silver stated he obtained hit with “sticker shock” when he reopened final yr.
“The price of beef when we left was $4.68 [per pound] for our choice top round beef,” Silver instructed ABC Information.
“And when we came back it was over $7 a pound.”
Silver stated that he has been hesitant to boost costs — a call that has eaten into his backside line.
“We’ve taken a hit, profitability-wise, just to maintain what our customers would expect to get when they come to us: a reasonably priced cheesesteak of the best quality they can find,” Silver stated.
Nationwide, the common worth of floor beef reached $6.12 per pound final month, in keeping with US authorities knowledge. That marks a rise of practically 12% from a yr earlier. The common worth for all raw beef steaks rose 8% over the identical interval, hitting $11.49 per pound.
These numbers signify file highs — and so they cap off a gentle climb in beef costs because the begin of the last decade. In 2020, the common worth of floor beef was $4.63 per pound. By 2021, that determine rose to $4.88, and by 2022, it had jumped to $5.31.
Regardless of a modest 2.3% improve in 2023, the tempo picked up once more in 2024, with floor beef averaging $5.71 per pound. As of mid-2025, customers are paying between $6.12 and $6.34 per pound — an increase of roughly 36% since 2020.
Steak costs have adopted an analogous, although extra modest, trajectory. Estimated at round $10.25 per pound in 2020, steak rose to $10.41 in 2021 and $10.64 in 2022.
Costs plateaued in 2023, then resumed climbing to $10.90 in 2024. In 2025, the common for raw beef steaks sits at $11.49, reflecting a 12–15% improve over 5 years.
Behind the surge are a number of intersecting elements. The US cattle herd has declined to its smallest measurement since 1951, slashing beef provide and pushing costs upward.
On the identical time, farmers have confronted greater manufacturing prices on account of drought circumstances, elevated grain costs and rising rates of interest, which have led many to scale back their herds.
Regardless of the value hikes, demand for beef has remained sturdy, notably in the course of the summer season grilling season, which suggests costs are unlikely to ease within the close to future. Some forecasts counsel elevated beef costs may persist into 2026 and past, until herd sizes are rebuilt.
