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DICKINSON COUNTY -- Keeping prices steady and customers happy has been no easy task for Bruce St. Arnauld, who owns and operates the Big 10 Bar and Grille in Quinnesec.

St. Arnauld has seen some of his food costs jump 20 percent over the last six months due, in large part, to gas prices.

He said the only way to avoid raising prices is to make sacrifices.

"I work most of it myself,” said St. Arnauld.  “So that's what happens when you get something like that--the owners have to put in more time.  Unfortunately that cuts back on the hours the employees get, so it's a domino effect, and it's not good."

St. Arnauld is working 90 hours per week and cut his weekly shipments in half to save money.  But the pain at the pump is easier to see at the grocery store.

Coffee is one of many examples of rising food prices.  Take a 34-ounce can of Folgers, which was selling for around $7 just a couple of months ago.  Today it costs $11.59.

Given the amount of food ordered and shipped, there's little grocery stores like Super One can do to keep prices low when fuels costs are high.

"We do all we can to try to hold the prices down as far as forward buying.  If we see an increase coming up, we'll buy extra before the increase,” said Jon Revier, the Store Manager for Super One in Iron Mountain.  “It's really hard to keep the prices down, and it's frustrating to have to raise prices."

There are no clear signs of relief in sight, but St. Arnauld said they will find a way to stay competitive.

"I think I've been lucky.  So it's difficult, yes, but we're not waving the white flag yet,” St. Arnauld said.  “We're still doing all right, we're holding our prices for our customers, and we're doing a good job of it."

This, therefore, has become a daily struggle.