‘We still have plenty’: Retailers making sense of penny’s slow death

As the U.S. Mint’s cessation of penny production sinks in, how are suburban retailers with cash customers being impacted?

Reactions at small and large businesses were mixed. The Original Granny’s restaurant in Wheeling still keeps a penny cup next to the cash register.

“It’s a family thing, where everybody feels comfortable enough — give a penny, take a penny,” explained co-owner Peter Kastanis.

The change “hasn’t affected us much. We still have plenty of pennies; we get rolls every week from the bank.”

The government stopped making the one-cent coins in November 2025, saying they were no longer necessary and costly to produce.

At Lisle’s Morton Arboretum, which welcomes over 1 million people annually, the shift hasn’t disrupted cash payments for admission since tickets are in whole dollar amounts. And, the vast majority of customers at the gift shop and restaurant use credit cards, Public Relations Director Ellyn Fortino said.

But “the cafe and restaurant, in particular, see a larger volume of cash transactions and have faced a limited supply of pennies. For that reason, the cafe and restaurant, which are operated by Aramark, are rounding cash change to the nearest 5 cents,” as of last week, Fortino said.

Grocery stores react

Grocery chains like Mariano’s and Woodman’s Markets are now rounding off totals to the nearest nickel for customers who pay in cash.

Mariano’s also suggests that shoppers who pay in cash bring exact change, said Amanda Puck, a spokesperson for parent company Kroger.

Woodman’s has posted signs reassuring customers it “will gladly accept pennies,” and explaining the new policy.

For pharmacy giant Walgreens, the situation is slightly fluid.

“When customers pay with cash, transactions will be rounded to the nearest nickel in the event of a penny shortage. Card and digital payments will not be affected,” a spokesperson said.

“We continue to monitor legislative developments and guidance from the Federal Reserve closely and are prepared to make any necessary adjustments to remain compliant and address this issue.”

At Dreamland Comics shop in Libertyville, there’s no penny drama, owner Charlie Balicki said.

“I know there’s nothing new being produced for pennies, but there’s probably a hundred million of them out there,” Balicki said.

Business is “mostly credit cards, but there’s still some cash transactions,” and Balicki is prepared. “I’ve got a roll of 50 (pennies),” he noted.

At the Original Granny’s, “finding (pennies) and getting them so far has not been an issue,” Kastanis said. “I know eventually we’ll have to deal with that, but for right now, we’re just skating by.”

That’s good because some cash customers “appreciate that penny. Sometimes you feel like you’re getting ripped off when you’re not getting that extra penny back. Here, not only do we give it but we’re always returning it,” Kastanis explained.

‘More complicated’

Illinois Retail Merchants Association President Rob Karr cautions, “the phaseout of the penny is more complicated than it seems, essentially creating a two-tier system that will treat customers who pay with cash and those who pay with a card differently.”

“This raises a host of complex legal and regulatory concerns, while simultaneously increasing costs on businesses and consumers when they can least afford it,” Karr added.

Some of the issues include cash consumers being disproportionately impacted by rounding purchases up, IRMS suggested. Conversely, when purchases are rounded down, customers paying by card “may be at a disadvantage,” and this could raise legal questions about non-uniform treatment, association officials said.

For merchants, IRMA expects more shoppers will choose to pay electronically, which means more swipe fees charged by card processing companies. The trend “increases the cost of doing business and makes everyday goods more expensive,” IRMA said.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, producing one penny had risen from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents over the last 10 years. The U.S. Mint anticipates saving $56 million in materials by discontinuing the coin.

“Given the increasing number of non-cash transactions and the very low purchasing power of a single penny, the Department of the Treasury does not believe continued production is fiscally responsible or necessary to meet the needs of commerce,” officials said.

The Federal Reserve will keep recirculating the estimated 115 billion pennies in existence “for as long as possible.”

And regarding losers or winners on cash transactions, the treasury forecasts that rounding prices up or down will balance out.