By George P. Hassett

When Tony Masci increased the price of a loaf of bread by 24 cents at Maria’s Cold Cuts on Broadway, he heard about it from his customers.

“There were a lot of complaints in broken English and Italian lingo” from the older customers, he said.

Masci was the guest at the May 2 Somerville News contributors meeting. He said he bought the business in February 2008, just in time to see the price of wheat, flour and Romano cheese “skyrocket.”

“Everything I need has gone up about 30 percent” in the last three months, he said. In addition, vendors have begun charging for the gas they used when delivering to him.

‚ÄúWe’re trying to hang in,‚Äù he said. Masci said family members have helped by coming into work without taking a paycheck and he has added wraps, chickens and turkeys for the young professionals of the neighborhood.

He also said the economic downturn has made potential customers a little tighter with a dollar. “I get the sense that people are saving their money to pay for gas right now,” he said.

Masci bought the business, after working for Polaroid and IBM for 30 years, because of the name. ‚ÄúMaria’s is an icon in Winter Hill,‚Äù he said.

He said adding daily specials and stocking customer favorites should keep his business afloat for a while. And he has one more secret: “My mom makes a pot of her pasta vazul every week.”