CLEVELAND — Restaurants and liquor stores in northeast Ohio are preparing for potential adverse effects after the latest round of tariffs by the Trump Administration. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs against countries that charge tariffs on American-made products

  • All European products imported into the United States will have a 20% tariff

  • French restaurants and local liquor stores are concerned about the impacts the tariffs will have on their businesses 

President Donald Trump announced eciprocal tariffs against countries that charge tariffs on American-made products. All European products imported into the United States will have a 20% tariff. 

One restaurant that will feel the impacts of the new tariffs is La Ville Lumiere, which opened it's doors in October. 

"The direct impact on your local community is very much there," La Ville Lumiere Chef and Owner Kevin O'Connell said. "There’s not a lot of French here in the metro Cleveland area. We want to be this brassiere that serves food all day and serves drinks.”

In addition to trying to establish itself as a new restaurant, La Ville Lumiere now has to navigate the new 20% tariff on European goods. The restaurant has a wine list of over 200 French bottles and serves solely French cuisine. That will now become more expensive to import, something that O’Connell says will hurt small businesses like his.

 

"While I might understand the idea behind why the tariffs are there, what they’re doing is affecting small business here," O'Connell said. "My worry is that this could set up a domino effect that can carry on for years to come, not just an immediate impact.”

Italian restaurants like La Dolce Vita in Cleveland will also deal with effects from the tariffs but owner Terry Tarantino isn’t panicking and hopes the tariffs do what the Trump administration intends them to.

"Hopefully our government figures out these tariffs and uses them strategically to decrease the price for our consumers and increase productivity in this country," Tarantino said. 

Brian Fife doesn’t share that positive outlook. He has been the wine manager at World Wines and Liquor in Mentor for 20 years and says the tariffs could force the store to stop stocking European wines. 

“If the tariffs were to go on for a long time, we would definitely be affected," Fife said. "That is something we just would not bring in at the higher price point.”

Both Fife and O’Connell think they will lose out on customers due to the higher prices of importing European food and alcoholic beverages and worry how it will impact their employees.

“Yes it would definitely impact business but the wine industry is suffering anyways," Fife said. "Wine consumption is down nationwide. This is just another kick in the back.”

“It’s not a political thing," O'Connell said. "It’s a business thing. It’s an American thing. I employ 57 people here so it’s not just about my business. It’s about how do I keep food on 57 people’s tables.”

For now, both say they've been stocking up, hoping to delay paying more for the items they need and charging more to customers.