Mega-merger Restaurant Owners Are Scared Of
What does a corporate merger have to do with your favorite neighborhood restaurant? A LOT.
My team sat down with Massachusetts restaurant owners to hear what's at stake.
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Video Summary
AI GeneratedFood distributor Sysco is pursuing a $29 billion acquisition of Restaurant Depot. Small business owners and restaurant operators express deep concern that this merger will eliminate competition, leading to higher supply costs and increased menu prices for consumers, potentially threatening the survival of family-owned eateries.
Food distributor Cisco acquiring another major player
in the food service industry.
Cisco making a $29 billion deal to buy Restaurant Depot,
and that's leading to concerns about what
this could mean for consumers.
Restaurant Depot and Cisco are merging,
two of the biggest suppliers for restaurants
and other food service operators.
And if they merge,
you bet that competition will go down and prices go up.
Hi, my name is Alex Argueta.
I work here at Mi Poblito here with my uncle. It is a family business,
owned for 20 years in the family
and we've been serving the community for 20 years of East Boston.
My name is Cecilia Lazard.
I'm the owner of Suya Joint located right here in Roxbury. We
have also another location in Providence.
Right now, it's already very, very expensive to run a restaurant.
We do catering and we also have a food truck.
On 2026, it actually feels like we're doomed.
My concern is if Cisco buys Restaurant Depot,
right, there's going to be no competition.
So basically, if they want for a box of lemons used to cost $40
and they're asking for $80,
that's just going to stay because there's no competition.
A lot of times when mergers like this happen, the prices do go up.
And we are already operating in like really, really thin margins.
And it is going to affect, again, payroll.
If Cisco raises prices,
we would have to up the prices for our food.
Which, you know, clients come here with $10,
they're expecting to buy their plate of food.
But now those $10 is not going to really do nothing
because the price is going up.
If the prices keep going up,
it's going to be very difficult for us to continue the business.
You know, like, we have workers, they pay taxes, they have families,
Restaurant Depot has workers.
It's just going to affect a lot of people.
Now, Donald Trump has let deals like this go through left and right.
It's been bad for businesses and bad for you.
But we need to keep fighting for competition
and fighting for what is right.
And that's why I'm calling on the FTC
to take a serious look at this merger
and block it if it's going to drive up prices
for businesses and families.
We can't just give up on this.