Judy Henry’s restaurant has been known for its housemade rosemary focaccia, served warm with extra-virgin olive oil to each table. In November, after nearly 20 years of the bread being complimentary, she began charging guests $1.50 per loaf.
Using bread to help balance the books is one way the chef-owner is managing rising costs of everything from workers to crab meat at her restaurant, Judy’s on Cherry, in Reading, Pa. Beef and pork trimmings previously used in soup are now ground up and used in a meatball appetizer, creating a new source of revenue. Ms. Henry last month raised the price of nonalcoholic beverages by 30 cents and stopped offering free refills.