The wave of inflation that's swept the United States this year has spared no part of the country, not even Wilmington, the city that has provided the backdrop for much of US President Joe Biden's political career. It is "the worst thing that could happen to small businesses, especially restaurants," says Gianni Esposito, owner of the pizzeria where Biden kicked off his presidential campaign. "Here in Delaware, he's loved. But as time has gone by, we have been lacking the reciprocation," says Serena Kelley Jefferson, co-owner of a food stall who recently took crab balls off her menu because they became too costly to serve profitably. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES