Trade wars are shrinking my bar, one bottle at a time

"Our bar was founded to be a third space for our local Brooklyn neighborhood - somewhere other than work or home where friends could gather, have a drink and connect more deeply. Our business model was built around earning the trust of repeat guests from our community, not charging tourists $22 for a cocktail. But today, tariffs are making that model more difficult to sustain."

"Recent emails from our alcohol distributor have come with an apology and a bolded note about tariff-related price increases on spirits from the European Union and United Kingdom. Those price hikes range from modest to significant, but they are painful regardless - especially after a holiday season when retail drink sales were down 5 percent year-over-year, and when the latest unemployment data show that the hospitality industry is struggling to recapture its pre-pandemic momentum."

"Customers are feeling these new tariffs up and down the bar menu. For one, they affect distinctive products that can only be made in one country or region, such as Cognac, a product of France, or Scotch, which is exclusively produced in Scotland. Tariffs have priced many boutique producers of these spirits out of the U.S. market, leading to fewer options on the bar shelf."

The bar operates as a third space for a Brooklyn neighborhood where friends gather, prioritizing trust of repeat local guests over tourist-priced cocktails. Tariffs on spirits from the European Union and United Kingdom have prompted distributor price increases that raise costs across the menu. Holiday retail drink sales fell five percent year-over-year while unemployment data show hospitality struggles to regain pre-pandemic momentum. Tariffs affect region-specific spirits like Cognac and Scotch, pricing many boutique producers out of the U.S. market and reducing shelf variety. U.S. craft distillers have lost export markets, suffered revenue declines, raised prices, and in some cases closed. Extremely thin margins make these impacts particularly threatening to neighborhood bars.

Read at The Hill