Selling thirty pounds of fresh, white truffles at $3,500 per pound, used to be a typical, weekly sale for John Magazino, a specialty food purveyor, who works with many of New York’s top, luxury restaurants.
But ever since the financial crisis hit, Magazino has been struggling to sell more than five pounds a week.
“The ultra-luxury business, from many of the high-end restaurants, has dropped off almost completely,” said Magazino, standing amongst shelves of imported, artisan food in his warehouse in Hunts Point, Bronx. “The restaurants are now looking at where every penny is being spent.”
Magazino began his food distribution company, Primizie Fine Foods, in 2007 – a time when restaurants were just beginning to feel the economic pinch as customers began to cut back on eating out, especially at high-end restaurants. Yet Magazino, who has nine years of experience in the food industry, was optimistic that he could run a successful business despite economic changes.
Until recently, Magazino’s clients, who include around 250 top restaurants, hotels, and country clubs nation-wide, looked to Magazino to supply them with costly products such as caviar and exotic mushrooms. Now, his clients are placing fewer orders and haggling him for lower prices.
In his warehouse, Magazino pulls a crate of plums off the shelf that were purchased from a family-owned, organic farm in California. “The best pastry chefs in New York City; the best restaurants like Jean Georges and Le Cirque – this is one of the premiere fruits they used in their recipes,” said Magazino. “But this is a product that has suffered in this economy.
“The restaurants have begun to start looking for things that are more value-oriented,” said Magazino. “People, two years ago, were willing to pay and not really ask how much it costs on an item like this. Now, it’s like, maybe I’m going to buy something less expensive and use a little bit more sugar in my recipe,” said Magazino.
According to the 2009 Zagat Survey, 33% of 145,000 respondents said that they ate out less in 2008 compared to 2007, while 28% said they are eating in less expensive restaurants.
The survey also noted that restaurant customers have become more sensitive to menu prices and have cut back on alcohol, appetizers and desserts.
In response to the slow economy, several high-end restaurants are now offering value meals, such as John Georges and Le Cirque, which now serve fixed price lunches in the $20 range.
Monty Gerrish, a sales representative for Primizie, said that lately, more chefs are buying less expensive food as the food industry becomes increasingly competitive.
“I just had a chef today from probably one of the most well known restaurants in New York, battering me about a Foie Gras price,” said Gerrish. “He’s already paying less than anybody else is paying, and he’s asking for a cheaper price.”
At the Harrison restaurant in Tribeca, executive chef, Amanda Freitag, who orders artisan, heirloom chicken, wild mushrooms and a Sardinian couscous from Primizie, has been making more of an effort to negotiate lower food prices with Magazino.
“I’ll ask Magazino more about whether we can compromise here and there on this price,” said Freitag. “I want my menu to look like a certain value, but I don’t want to have to raise prices.”
