KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Small business owners, including food truck operators, continue to work through supply chain snags impacting their operations.
Jeremy Long, owner of Dispatch Pizza, has a new toy for his food truck — a dough mixer.
"It's ready to make the dough literally and figuratively," he said.
Long said he's excited to get his business running but his truck isn't quite ready.
"We have a 1949 pickup truck, a beautiful old classic truck, and we're going to roll up to weddings, corporate events, private parties and throw down some world class pizza," Long said.
Long was hoping to have the truck ready to go nearly two months ago.
"We're all dressed up with nowhere to go, we were ready for this in March," he said.
Entrepreneurs like Long continue to run into manufacturing and shipping delays. The supply chain still hasn't completely recovered.
"Both the heightened demand of trying to recover from the supply chain disruptions during COVID means trucks, trailers, warehouse space are all in short supply and labor," Larry Wigger, a professor at UMKC said.
According to Wigger, the problems are happening both abroad and in the United States.
Overseas, it's ships waiting at Chinese ports and the Russian invasion of Ukraine affecting commodities like oil, gas and wheat.
In the U.S., it's a new wrinkle, with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.
"For businesses that need to invest, a local restaurant that needs working capital going into the summer season, or for consumers, they want to reduce the amount of money being spent," Wigger said. "They want to reduce the amount of business activity so there's less competition, so prices stabilize."
Food trucks are also feeling the squeeze of expensive permits.
"It's a great business model, people want it, but the laws aren't really set up for it to thrive right now, it's an uphill battle," Long said.
In spite of all that, Long isn't giving up on his dream.
"I lived in Italy, Chicago and California, and have done a lot of different things," Long said. "I've always wanted to bring something unique and special to Kansas City where I'm from."
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