Tariffs forcing local businesses to raise prices; restaurant owner says supplier raised coffee prices 41%

A local business said it's already being affected by President Donald Trump's tariffs.

One restaurant owner said her supplier raised coffee prices and now she'll be forced to pass the extra cost on to customers.

What impact are businesses feeling?

Johnna Hayes operates Bramble Breakfast and Bar and some other restaurants in the area with her group, Three Sirens Restaurant Group. 

She said the tariffs are causing prices on things like coffee and champagne to go up and she wants people to be aware.

“We’re going to feel that when it comes from different countries, even if it's not produced in that country, it'll come to us," she said. 

She said her supplier costs on bags of coffee are going from $85 to $120, and beans mostly can’t be grown in the US. 

“We had a 41 percent spike in coffee," Hayes said. "I think people think we get it locally. You can order it from a vendor locally and support them, but they still have to bring it in from overseas," she said. 

She said prices on things like tequila, wine, fresh fruit, pork and other imported goods could also go up. 

Hayes hopes people continue supporting local and know that increasing prices are out of their hands. 

“Have a little patience with what's about to happen, if we can get through it and keep supporting these local businesses," she said.

Who will feel the cost impact?

OSU Professor Amy Hagerman said tariffs will affect imported products and also products the US exports, like soybeans, to places like China, which has responded with tariffs of its own against the US. She said that will make it harder for US products to compete in China.

"These restaurants and service industries have to pass that onto the consumer; they're not running on big margins anyway," she said.

She said there is already a beef shortage here because of droughts, which is increasing prices, and these tariffs could further that squeeze, along with higher prices on fertilizer and machinery for local ranchers and farmers. 

She hopes these tariffs will help the US find new markets to do business with, but in the meantime, people need to be prepared for higher prices. 

Why are the tariffs being added? 

The White House says their goal is to make trade policies with other countries more balanced and increase US economic production.

President Trump has stopped retaliatory tariffs for three months in order to negotiate with other countries.

President Trump says more than 75 countries have reached out to discuss new trade deals since his tariff announcement.

China still faces up to a 245% tariff.