Local bar copes with inflation pressure on New Year’s

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Bar owners spent Friday getting ready to host New Year’s Eve parties, but those parties have come with an extra cost this year.

“Everything has gone up,” Cale Henderson, owner of Moco Game Room & Hot Dog Bar in Cedar Rapids, said.

Henderson has three bands playing Saturday, and he’s expecting around 200 people that night for the celebrations, but the cost of hosting has gone up. According to the Consumer Price Index, the cost of going out to drink a beer has gone up 7% since last year. The cost of wine has gone up 8%, and liquor prices have gone up 7%.

Henderson said he’s had to make some changes this year to not pass all those costs onto his customers.

“We’re trying to make money in different ways,” Henderson said. “We’ve started selling merchandise, we have a cover most nights when we have bands. It helps to offset some of our costs so we can still create what we think is a really good time at a price point that people find approachable.”

While he and his team put on the final touches, he said the focus has now switched to safety rather than the increased prices.

“New Year’s is always an exciting time,” Henderson said. “We just want to make sure everyone gets home safely.”

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