Broke Boy Taco owner Sean Yarbrough calls on Kiwis to back local restaurants amid cost surge

The restaurateur behind “the most famous tacos in New Zealand” has issued an emotional plea for support after criticism over rising prices.

Broke Boy Taco founder Sean Yarbrough said soaring food costs had left small business owners with little choice but to raise prices.

“There’s never been a worse time to own a restaurant in history than now,” the Auckland business owner said in a video posted to his 125,000 Instagram followers yesterday afternoon.

“I know some of y’all are pissed off at me for raising the prices, but I don’t have a choice.

“The choice is you raise the price, or you shut your doors.”

Kentucky-born Yarbrough founded the Mexican street food business in Mt Albert about four years ago.

Viral social media marketing catapulted the venture into the spotlight, with UFC champion Israel Adesanya and his brothers later backing the brand as investors.

Broke Boy Taco employs nearly 100 staff and operates four restaurants, food trucks, a catering service and a merchandise division.

The restaurant’s most popular item, three birria tacos made with beef slow-cooked for 16 hours, now sells for $25, up $5 on its original price, Yarbrough said.

He said the cost of beef used in the tacos had risen from about $11 a kilogram when he started the business to around $20 a kilogram today.

He said customers had confronted him about the markup in prices.

“Nobody’s more upset about it than me,” he told the Herald.

“People have a right to be angry, 100%, but it shouldn’t be directed at small business owners.

“There is no margin left, it’s non-existent.”

Yarbrough said he wanted to see food prices come down, even if it meant New Zealand earning less in exports.

“New Zealand as a country makes a little less money, but the people in the country can afford to eat,” he said.

His comments struck a chord, with multiple local hospitality businesses thanking him for speaking publicly about the pressures facing the sector.

“There’s a lot of places closing their doors after being open for 20, 30, 40 years.

“It’s everything they’ve ever worked for.”

Yarbrough said many business owners were reluctant to discuss their struggles publicly for fear of backlash.

“Nobody’s coming to save us. We have to speak up.”

He called on New Zealanders to continue supporting local businesses where possible.

“If we don’t continue to support each other, there’s not going to be anything left except for big corporations.

“That’s not a very fun life for anyone.”