RICHMOND, Va. -- If anyone knows exactly what to order at Kristen's Kitchen — a local food truck serving crab cake and steak sandwiches — it is Kristen's husband and business partner Rob Bortone.
"Yeah, I’m a steak and potatoes kinda guy, I always love to have me a steak and cheese," Rob said with a smile.
The Bortones started their business in 2021, after Kristen lost her job at a gym during COVID closures.
Both Kristen and Rob had previously worked in the restaurant industry and decided to take the leap.
“We actually met 20 years ago at a restaurant where we worked together. She was a host, and I was a server," Rob, who takes the orders while Kristen does the cooking, said. “She really puts love into her food.”
The food truck is their passion, living, and a constant math equation.
“Oh, the math is huge. Not only do we have to worry about cost of food, but we also have space issues too. The amount of food we can carry in the truck is a big thing, we have to take into account," Rob said. "It’s definitely been a challenge with prices over the last three years because products have been up and down, up and down.”
$1.2 Billion Budget Surplus
Despite economic pressures from inflation and rising costs for small businesses and consumers, Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) announced Wednesday that Virginia finished fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30, with a nearly $1.2 billion budget surplus.
Administration officials said their earlier revenue forecast included calculations for a national economic recession that never materialized, but better than expected job growth in Virginia and consumer spending helped lead to the surplus, officials said.
Youngkin said a budget surplus of this size is good news for Virginians and once again reiterated his support for tax relief for Virginians.
“It is an opportunity for us to pursue a ‘both-and’ strategy, not an ‘either-or,'" the Governor said.
Speaking with reporters, Youngkin said the conversations should include lowering the tax rate for individuals and families, ending the use of personal property tax or the "car tax" in localities, and cutting the corporate tax rate. The administration pursued these efforts in previous budget talks, but they were not included in recent budget negotiations with Democrats, who control General Assembly.
“All of these should be on the table for us to discuss, all of these should be opportunities for us to reduce burdens on Virginians, and we’ll go through a process over the next few months to put together a formal proposal," Youngkin said.
In a statement following the joint money committees of the General Assembly meeting Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats released a statement that said additional tax rebates are off the table in their view.
"Although the Governor may view our financial surplus as an indication of over-taxation, it’s crucial to recognize that a true surplus cannot exist alongside underfunded essential systems," the statement said. "Our K-12 education system, higher education, natural resources, mental health, and our safety net continue to be underfunded by billions of dollars, and we must continue to prioritize investments into those programs."
House Appropriations Chair Del. Luke Torian (D - Prince William) said since tax policy changes cannot occur until the 2025 General Assembly session beginning in January.
"The Virginia economy is strong," Torian said. "I think we’ll just have to wait and see what all’s going to come out in regards to any recommendations we have that would impact any decisions that will be made in the 2025 session.”
For the Bortones, the rising cost of food has impacted their business. He hopes whatever decisions state lawmakers come to with the state's purse will come with small businesses like theirs in mind.
"We’re finding ways to cut prices where we can because we don’t raise prices on our customers. A steady price is something that’s important to them," Bortone said. “We know that as long as we put our absolute best into this and give it all we’ve got, it’s going to be a success, and it has been so far.”
Youngkin will present his amendments to Virginia two-year budget, which passed earlier this year, in December. That proposal will include his plan for the surplus, but ultimately the General Assembly will help determine what Virginia will do with the surplus funding during the 2025 session.
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