WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Fresh ingredients and some secret recipes — that’s what makes The Pizza Place in Winston-Salem so good.

“Our dough recipe is a secret and our sauce recipe, also a secret,” owner Nadine Carmelo said, "and some of the best cheese that you can buy right now.”

What You Need To Know

  • The average U.S. gas price hit a record Thursday morning, rising to over $5 per gallon, according to the website Gas Buddy

  • The average price in North Carolina is a little lower, about $4.65 per gallon, but that's also a record

  • The owner of The Pizza Place in Winston-Salem faces challenges including high gas prices, but she says the people make the business worthwhile

Carmelo has owned the restaurant for about six months.

“The previous owner had like a very New York name, which we still do New York pizza,” she said. “But I just wanted a name that was a little bit more open.”

Her father owned a small pizza shop in upstate New York, where she grew up.

“He came here from Lebanon, they immigrated here. He worked in the restaurant, and someone in Ithaca taught him how to make pizza,” Carmelo said. “So, he was like, ‘I feel like I can do this.’”

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He passed on what he knew to her, but those lessons didn’t account for record inflation. Profits this year have been a bit harder to come by for Carmelo. It starts with the labor shortage, which is hitting lots of industries right now, forcing her to take on just about every role in the restaurant, including delivery driver.

“I’m finding now that a lot of people that have come to me looking for jobs, they just don’t have a car,” she said.

Plus, it’s hard to entice drivers to come in with gas prices so high. Her standard rate for them is $3 per delivery, plus tips, but even that might change.

Related: Gas prices hit new high in U.S., approaching $5 average, AAA says

“I really can’t believe how much gas has gone up. When I first bought the restaurant in November, I was paying like $2.60 a gallon,” Carmelo said. “Now, I mean, it’s close to $5.”

The gas-price tracking website Gas Buddy shows the United States on Thursday crossed the $5 per gallon average threshold for unleaded, a record, according to that website.

Here in North Carolina, the average is a little lower, at $4.65 per gallon, but it’s still up $1.76 from this time last year and also at its highest level ever.

Gas isn’t the only challenge Carmelo is dealing with. Supply chain shortages aren’t over.

“It’s not just the cost of gas, but just everything in general in the restaurant industry,” she said. “Chicken, cheese, meat, it’s all adding up.”

Still, she says it’s worth it because of the people.

“I don’t know, it’s just kind of fun,” Carmelo said. “Honestly, just everyone who works here makes it fun.”