BROOKLYN, OHIO — Cinco de Mayo is a fun day for Claudio Fuentes.
“Cinco de Mayo means to me like a fiesta,” he said.
It’s a yearly celebration where people gather to remember the Mexican military’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
“It’s actually what we celebrate in Mexico,” he said. “Here, I think we celebrate different. Obviously, we celebrate having margaritas, having a good food, and yes, how we do here. But good experience.”
Fuentes is the manager of the El Palenque Mexican Restaurant in Brooklyn. He said as the day draws near, inflation is proving impactful.
He said the price of limes is currently quite expensive.
The Consumer Price Index reports in March the food index increased 1% while the index for fruits and vegetables increased 1.5% following a 2.5% increase in February.
“I’m thinking probably like some items up to 20%,” he said. “This is actually hitting us really hard, you know. Well, we’re trying to continue with the same quality of foods, same quality of drinks and everything.”
He said there will be a smaller menu for Cinco de Mayo to navigate the increase in prices.
“We want to try to minimize our menu because for the crowd that we get,” he said. “It’s hard to keep up with the whole entire menu.”
However, he said staff are prepared to deal with the influx of customers.
“Everybody gets here,” he said. “I get here like a few hours before the normal time and literally we have to have a bowl of the staff out here too and the dining area and all the stuff. We have to be prepared because it’s a big day.”
Fuentes said people do not need to make reservations; they can walk on in.
