Legendary LA restaurant sounds alarm over future on struggling street as electric bill soars by $10K 

Canter’s Deli, the iconic LA eatery famed for its corned beef sandwiches and matzo ball soup, could be forced to slash staff after its water and electric bill soared by $10,000 in just months.

Canter’s, a nearly 100-year-old Jewish deli institution brimming with Hollywood lore, is sounding the alarm after watching its LADWP bill skyrocket to over $34,000 — a nearly $10,000 increase from just four months ago, according to its third-generation owners, siblings Jacqueline and Marc Canter.

One of the longest-running and most well-liked businesses in the city’s rapidly failing Fairfax District is now being forced to make numerous cutbacks, including the building’s air conditioning — a particularly difficult decision as Southern California suffers through historic heat waves in 2026.

If costs continue to rise, the estimable eatery may have to start cutting back on staff, the restaurant says— putting the jobs of loyal employees who have worked there for decades at risk.

“Our electric bill has skyrocketed,” Jacqueline Canter tells the California Post. “Bills are much, much higher than they should be.”

Canter’s jaw-dropping bill comes as Californians feel the burn of high electricity bills, with a recent analysis finding the pay the highest power prices in the whole country — more than double the national average.

California’s average price for electricity was 27.63 cents per kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025, 103% higher than the national average of 13.63 cents.

The state’s Pacific Gas & Electric customers could see their annual energy bills increase by as much as $840 by 2030, according to estimates from the California Public Utilities Commission’s Public Advocates Office.

Marc said his deli’s winter bills used to average $19,000, compared to $23,000 to $24,000 in the summer, but the seasonal gap has since tripled from roughly $4,000 to $12,000.

But LADWP denied responsibility for the rising bills, instead pointing to a possible issue with Canter’s infrastructure.

Over the past three months, Canter’s electric charges jumped 6.6%, water charges surged 21.6% and sewer charges skyrocketed 45%, marking the steepest increase, according to LADWP, noting electricity usage remained flat, but higher peak demand charges slightly drove up costs.

“The substantial increases in water and related sewer charges may indicate a water leak or another source of elevated water consumption,” the department told the California Post.

LADWP also reached out to Canter’s, offering to send a specialist to the property to help source the possible issue, according to the department.

Jacqueline isn’t buying LADWP’s explanation.

“Everybody’s bill has gone up so that’s no excuse about a water leak. I think that’s passing the buck,” she told The Post. “There’s no water leak, we’ve done nothing differently than we’ve done now for 95 years, yet our bill has skyrocketed,” she said.

Marc says the business has been turning off the air conditioning in one of the dining rooms between midnight and 8 a.m. in hopes of conserving their energy use, but it still isn’t enough.

If things don’t change soon, he says the restaurant could be forced to cut staff.

“When you look at your expenses, the only expense that you can really control is your labor,” says Marc. “If we don’t have enough money to pay the payroll, then we have to cut back on labor. It’s that simple.”

Jacqueline says she’s heard of other businesses suffering similar struggles.

“It’s not just Canter’s, it’s all over the city. It’s people who live in the neighborhood, people who work in the neighborhood, and other businesses,” she said.

Despite the grave uncertainty, she’s holding on to her family’s legacy.

“We’ve been through the egg prices skyrocketing, we’ve been through so many things. We’ve been through riots, we’ve been through earthquakes, we’ll get through this,” says Jacqueline. “We intend to be here another 95 years, we’ll get through it somehow.”

Marc explained that he’s speaking out in hopes of shining a spotlight on a significant issue facing already-strapped mom-and-pop spots across the Southland.

“California far outpaces the national average on the cost of electricity, creating an ongoing burden for restaurants where electricity usage is five times more than office buildings and non-food retail stores,” Jot Condie, President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Restaurant Association, told The Post.    

“While LA restaurants served by LADWP may have somewhat lower rates than investor-owned utilities, electric bills represent one of our fastest-growing fixed costs. California’s energy inflation is compressing margins even more and forcing hard decisions on menu pricing, staffing, and investment in modern, high-efficiency kitchen equipment,” Condie continued.

The rough revelation has led to widespread commiseration online — where Southern Californians lamented their own struggles with rising utility rates.

“Utilities, like many things in Los Angeles that the government is involved in, are an extortion racket,” one Reddit commenter spat. “Marc Canter is a good guy, and Canter’s is a staple of the city. As a regular patron I would hate to see the staff be cut because of this, they really are part of what makes it such a special place.”

“I live around the corner from Canter’s and my DWP bill doubled this month! It’s never been this high in over 12 years!” another commenter wrote.

“I just got one as well. For context I live alone my electricity bill is usually around $160…my electricity bill was $647 this month,” a third ratepayer chimed in.

The news comes after a San Fernando Valley man went viral for receiving a shocking $3,300 power bill from the from LADWP. 

The bill was so outrageous that government officials launched an investigation over the situation.

“It doesn’t sit right with me; it doesn’t sit right with a lot of folks,” LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia told CBS LA. “We already did a huge data request as well to understand these bills.”

The Golden State is feeling the burn of high electricity bills. A recent analysis found that Californians pay the highest electricity prices in the whole country, more than double the national average — a situation at least one expert referred to as “alarming.”

California’s average price for electricity was 27.63 cents per kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025, which was 103% higher than the national average of 13.63 cents.

The LADWP told the California Post that they cannot comment on specific customer information without their authorization. The California Post reached out to the LA City Controller for comment.

Canter’s is a bright spot on the Fairfax corridor, which has been plagued with empty storefronts for years. Jacqueline previously pointed to high rents as a cause for vacant businesses along the struggling street.

“My grandfather was smart enough to buy the property when he did, and so I try to maintain,” Canter told the California Post in September.

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“I would love to see everybody else lower their rent so that we can have 100% no vacancies on Fairfax,” she told the California Post.

“I’ve seen places that have been vacant for like 30 years. I’m thinking this doesn’t make any sense to me, business-wise, to keep a property vacant for 30 years,” she continued.