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	Photo by Skip Lawrence Eddie Acevedo works at Toppings Pizza Co. on New Design Road where they are feeling the pinch of rising energy costs.

Luke's Pizza has closed both of its locations, owner Chad Randle said Monday.

"I've gone through several options," he said. "I've been trying to sell the business. I had a potential buyer, but the financing didn't work out."

The closing of the restaurants ----at Crestwood Boulevard and Md. 144, next to Jug Bridge Inn ----were a direct result of soaring food and fuel costs.

Local pizza parlor owners said they are paying more for ingredients and toppings, such as flour and cheese. If prices continue to rise, pizzerias said they'll have to pass on higher prices to customers. For now, they're cutting costs by using less electricity or hiring fewer summer workers.

Randle bought the Crestwood Boulevard location 3 1/2 years ago. Luke's was launched in 1999 by Mike Tauraso, who also owns the Tasting Room in downtown Frederick .

The restaurant was a popular eatery with pizza, pasta, fried artichoke hearts and more.

Randle opened the second location last year next to Jug Bridge Inn, but both locations saw business fall.

"My business was off 30 percent from last year. It got to the point where I couldn't recoup the cost," Randle said.

Cooks at Toppings Pizza Co., on New Design Road in Frederick , now weigh exactly 9 ounces of cheese on a scale before sprinkling it onto a medium, 16-inch pizza, said owner Ken Nelson.

"There's no more, no less," Nelson said. "Everyone gets what they're paying for, whereas we used to not worry about it."

Flour prices rose 200 percent in the last four months, and cheese prices rose about 60 percent from a year ago, Nelson said.

"We're just trying to get through this so-called recession -- they say they don't know if we're in one, but I say we are," he said. "We're feeling it. Customers are spending more for their gas tank rather than on dining."

Toppings Pizza Co. has scheduled fewer employees, turns off lights when no one is using a room and turns off the air conditioning unit earlier in the night, Nelson said.

"Right now, we're plugging along, but we're not in the position we used to be in," Nelson said.

Luis Diaz, manager of Fox's Pizza Den, said he paid about $1.50 per pound for cheese about two years ago. Now, he pays more than $3.

Diaz said the pizza parlor can't offer as many specials as it once did.

"Some customers ask me about a special and why don't have it," Diaz said. "We really can't offer too many deals now."

Rising fuel prices have not greatly impacted pizza deliveries, Diaz said, because customers live within a few miles of the business.

Nelson, of Toppings Pizza Co., said drivers thrive off tips.

"We have a good customer base, and people seem to tip well," Nelson said. "The drivers are still happy, but it does cost them more to deliver now."

At Ledo's Pizza, owner Kari Fitzgerald said the parlor has not increased its prices yet.

"We're trying not to do that and trying not to decrease our portions by any means," Fitzgerald said. "If things stay the way they are, we'll have to do something."

Increasing prices, however, means flustering customers and possibly decreasing sales.

"I think consumers still want to go out to eat and enjoy that aspect, but if we raise our prices, they won't be able to afford that," Fitzgerald said.

Toppings Pizza Co. could increase prices this fall.

"Every time the price goes up for other goods, we make less of a profit," Nelson said. "So far we haven't raised prices, but there comes a point where you can't do. It just has to go up."