Tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump have sparked fears surrounding a potential surge in prices across Boston restaurants, leaving some community members worried for the financial future of smaller local businesses. 

Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has declared a number of tariffs in a bid to increase domestic production and address trade imbalances with other countries. 

However, these policies could spike the price of eating out, as some believe restaurants will pay significantly more to outsource certain goods from foreign countries.

Some dine-out staples are only available overseas, leaving restaurants with no choice but to import, said Jessica Moore, director of government affairs for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. 

Robert Binney, chair of the Boston Ward 5 Democratic Committee, said the hiked taxes will be “devastating” for the Boston service industry. 

“Many of the goods and equipment that restaurants need are imported,” Binney said, noting that protein, produce and kitchen equipment — such as stoves and refrigerators — are usually produced outside of the United States. “The prices are going to increase. There’s no question about it.”

Tariffs may force restaurants to lay off workers, raise prices for consumers or decrease the quality of their products, Binney said. 

Trump’s stance on the global trade war has also fluctuated, as the president has paused tariffs on certain countries while reviving threats to announce steeper ones on others, according to the New York Times. 

This “back-and-forth” has left Lucia Patrick, the co-owner of the Solid Ground Café in Mission Hill, struggling to gauge the extent to which her business may be impacted. 

“It’s hard to keep track of whether they’re happening or not,” Patrick said. “Currently, I haven’t seen an increase of prices of certain items that I think would generally be affected … but I do anticipate it.”

The Solid Ground Café imports its coffee and tea, and Patrick said prices have already increased due to “market volatility” and “environmental challenges.” 

“Our [coffee] supplier has suggested that when tariffs do really come into play, that it’s going to increase the prices again, which is really a bummer for everyone in the value chain,” Patrick said. “Tariffs would really be a hardship for everyone.” 

Moore said the MRA is working to help “mitigate” the potential effects of tariffs. 

“What we really hope is that we are able to work with government officials to make it so the tariffs don’t have a significant impact on the price that restaurants are paying for certain goods,” Moore said. 

For instance, champagne, tequila and Jameson whisky are popular items becoming increasingly difficult to import, Moore said.

“We hope that we won’t see a significant impact to the bottom line for those restaurants,” she said.

However, some worry that small businesses will bear the brunt of the market chaos.  

Binney said while chain restaurants “know how to cover each other,” smaller restaurants will find it harder to overcome the effects of tariffs.

“The little guys, the one and two little restaurants around, the ones that we love to go to, the ones that cater to the locals and have the unique food offerings that we love, they’re not going to be able to provide that anymore in the quality that they use and their service,” Binney said.

Patrick said tariffs would force her to raise prices for customers to ensure employees are paid fairly and that her family is making a living.

“This is my family’s only revenue stream … I own [the café] with my husband, and we have a family, so these tariffs would definitely hit,” Patrick said. “These tariffs would definitely hit small business owners much harder than big chains, but I think everyone would feel it either way.” 

She added that surging prices may have an impact on Bostonians’ way of life and how they spend their money. 

“There might be folks in the community who can adjust to rising prices, but there certainly are folks who may not be able to handle that and have to change their lifestyle,” Patrick said. “But even so, whether it’s the restaurant industry or groceries, food is gonna increase [in price] across the board. It’s just bad news to have these tariffs, I think, for us to just live.”