For Our Hours owner Alex Choi, the coming ban on credit card surcharges is arriving as one more challenge for a sector already stretched thin by rising supply chain costs, fuel surcharges and soaring ingredient prices.
"Small businesses are really feeling the squeeze," Mr Choi said. "It feels like we are absorbing all of it."
Operating a small cafe in Dickson, Mr Choi said his monthly expenses had jumped by nearly 10 per cent compared with last year. Butter prices alone rose from about $230 to more than $320 per order over the past two years, and suppliers began adding separate delivery fees to pass on the fuel surcharges.
