1 week Ago
AUSTIN, Texas — Mark Tovar is the co-owner of Dog Day Coffee and is no stranger to price hikes. He says the coffee shop recently raised the prices on its coffee since the cost of coffee is going up. Now, he is preparing for more increases with tariffs going into effect.
"Our vendor already raised the prices because they're having to purchase coffee at a higher price, so they just raised our prices for coffee roughly about 10%," Tovar said. "We're probably going to have to raise it again, assuming this is staying in effect. Well, that kind of sucks.
" According to the National Coffee Association , more than 99% of America's coffee has to be imported since it cannot grow in most of the country. While Tovar says they mostly get coffee from Brazil and Sumatra, another Austin coffee shop, Monkey Nest Coffee, relies on beans from seven different countries. The owner, Carlos Alcántara, is already seeing vendors raise their prices.
"It was somewhere between 8.5% to 15%," Alcántara said. "We are looking at alternative suppliers that makes us more competitive.
" Both owners are just hoping the coffee will keep pouring freely. "It's going to impact everyone, and it's probably as stressful for me as it is, you know, my next-door coffee shop," Alcántara said. "There's not going to be a whole lot of disposable income for folks," Tovar said.
"It's going to take a backseat to, 'Oh, I need money for food,' or 'I need money for rent' or 'I need money for a mortgage or a car payment.' Yeah, that scares me for sure.".
