"Everything is killing the little people," he said in frustration.
Other independent pizzeria owners in the area said that they, too, were feeling the pinch.
"It just hurts the pockets," said Michael Spina, owner of Celebre Pizza in South Philadelphia. He, too, has raised his pizza price 50 cents. "Every week it's something different going up - cheese, Pepsi," he said.
Mostly, the owners said, customers are taking it in stride. "They see everything else is going up," Mavroudis said.
Customers at John's Place, a pizzeria and restaurant on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, backed him up yesterday. John's recently raised the price of a slice 15 cents - plain cheese is now $1.75 - and is contemplating how much to raise the price of a whole pie.
Ed Condi, who eats pizza a couple of times a week, said a plain slice would have to go above $2 before he would think twice about buying. An extra 15 cents for a slice or 50 cents for a pie does not bother him. "I don't think that's a big deal," he said. "I'm a gourmet pizza lover."
Cleodine Jackson, who ordered a hearty slice of grilled chicken and mushroom, said she still thought the pizza was a good deal. Jackson, who described herself as "frugal," said a $2 increase for a whole pizza would bother her. At that point, she said, "I can make my own."
The price of wheat has surged in the last month because of constraints on global supply and swelling demand from places such as China. The price of cheese has been rising during the last year, in part because of lower-than-normal production and higher demand.
Mavroudis said the price of flour had risen from $8.50 for a 25-pound bag to $24.95 in three weeks. In three months, Spina has gone from paying $18 for a 50-pound bag to $36. He uses 25 to 30 bags a week.
Cheese has fluctuated more, but now costs about a dollar a pound more than it did last year, Mavroudis said.
