LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Signs have begun to pop up in businesses nationwide, giving “pinching pennies” a whole new meaning.
Kroger stores around Louisville, for instance, have put up signs detailing the impacts of a penny shortage, saying, “If using cash for payment, please consider providing exact change.”
The shortage comes just two months after the U.S. Treasury stopped minting the one-cent coin, after President Donald Trump issued the stoppage in February, citing the input cost. Each coin costs three times more to produce than its worth.
Kroger stores have put up signs detailing the impacts of a penny shortage, saying, “If using cash for payment, please consider providing exact change.”(WAVE)
There are some businesses, though, that never stopped operating with physical currency as their only form of payment.
Bonnie and Clyde’s Pizza Parlor in Pleasure Ridge Park is one of those businesses. A staple restaurant along Dixie Highway, customers cannot miss the sign on the front door that reads, “Cash only. No checks or bankcards accepted.”
“We never found a reason to change. It works. It’s simple, so we just keep doing it,” owner Ray Lamkin said.
Lamkin has owned the pizza parlor since 1971. Previously operating as a franchise pizza place, he went independent, renaming it “Bonnie and Clyde’s Pizza Parlor” in 1978. Just like the pizza itself, very little has changed since then, including their cash-only policy.
“I think the customers come for the product or for the atmosphere or the service, and they pay the way that works, and here it’s cash,” Lamkin said.
Many businesses are asking for exact change or another form of payment, as the penny shortage gets underway. Others are rounding up to the nickel, including Lamkin, though he remains unfazed.
“When the big chains don’t use pennies anymore, more of what’s left will be available to us. And we will simply use pennies as long as they have them,” Lamkin said, emphasizing with a laugh that if there is a business keeping pennies in circulation, it will be his.
As for impacts on his business, he expects it to be minor. The cost is not one they will need to pass on to the customer. They are also looking for a nickel register that automatically registers change to the nearest five-cent.
Meanwhile, Lamkin’s customers continue to find the pizza worth every penny, and like Lamkin, tell WAVE they are not bothered by the change in how they exchange currency.
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