An Ontario Restaurant Took Salads Off Their Menu Because Of How Expensive Lettuce Has Gotten

Every healthy diet should include greens, but the rising price of groceries in Canada has made it so a head of lettuce can cost you an arm and a leg, and Ontario restaurants are struggling to cope.

JD Southern Smokehouse, located in Sudbury, took to social media on Monday, November 7, to announce it would no longer be selling salads due to the skyrocketing cost of lettuce.

The BBQ joint told customers via a Facebook post that it would be temporarily removing salads from its menu until "prices come back down a bit."

The restaurant attached a photo, which it claims was taken at a Sudbury grocery store, of a case of romaine heart lettuce selling for a whopping $101.99.

"The price is triple of what a case normally is," the owner states in the post.

As for when salads will be back on the menu, the restaurant's owner, Jason Heaton, told CTV that he doesn't plan on revisiting the decision until spring, and only if the price of lettuce comes down.

"You’re losing money on every salad you send out these days," he told the media outlet.

"Now you get 36 heads for $102 a case. When I priced this menu out in the summer it was 42 heads for $37.99 a case," he added. "So, that’s a huge difference, and the heads of lettuce have gotten smaller. One head of lettuce doesn’t even make one salad."

In September, Statistics Canada released its monthly consumer price index (CPI) which zeroed in on inflation in Canada and the rise in grocery prices.

Canada saw the cost of groceries rise at the fastest pace since 1981 back in August. The report also noted that the prices of food purchased from stores went up 10.8% this summer. Yikes.

This article's right-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.