The owner of the NYC restaurant fears that the looming tariffs of European wine and spirit will hit the final line.
President Trump threatened to impose a 200% obligation on liquor from the European Union after the EU vowed to collect 50% tax on American whiskey, which will be rolled out in early April.
Trump may scale down his tariffs as part of a negotiation ploy, but the growing trade war poses an existential threat to recently opened restaurants like Norita's Boni & Mott.
The family-run Mediterranean eatery relies on selling wine as they are waiting for full liquor licenses, owner Mehdi Mokrani told Side Dish.
Mokrani said the wine sales will generate about half of Boni & Mott's revenue. Many of the vintages on the wine list were hand picked from small producers, usually family-run wineries in France and Italy, from those focused on biodynamic organic wines.
“Restaurants rely on selling liquor. When tariffs rise, we will go out of business,” Mokrani said.
The top chef of three respected Michelin starring Le Bernardine and co-owner of Aldo Som Wine Bar said the restaurant is being prepared for some sort of tariff.
“There are tariffs, but I don't think it's 200%. [from France, Spain, the UK and Germany] So do other luxury items like truffles. That range of duties is not good for importers, us and our clients, but unlike 200%, it is manageable,” Ripert said.
Ripert added that his wine list is global and he is more hurt than the others focused in Europe.
“I don't think that happens. Of course it looks very exaggerated, but of course it can be. American companies importing wine will be punished,” Ripert said.
A 200% tariff will destroy major wine and spirit importers and distributors.
“We hope that our European friends will not be affected, but we can always sell more wine from New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and South Africa,” Ripert said.
Kylie Monaghan, who co-owns Amari, popular in East 60th Avenue and Hamptons' Carissa, said the 200% tariffs “will be a death blow to an industry already crippled by the pandemic, rising costs and changing consumer spending.”
It's even worse for wine importers like Iacopo Di Teodoro, husband of Classica Wine Merchant's Monagan.
“It's all destruction,” Monaghan said. “It's not just the fact that tariffs could exist, it's uncertainty.”
“When we're talking about items shipped from overseas, products sent to the US before the announcement will incur unexpected tariffs. So, small cargo has an unexpected extra $600,000 that we have to pay upfront. That's a cash flow nightmare,” added Monaghan.
The threat of high tariffs is because alcohol sales are hampered by inflation, an increasingly calm and curious movement, and even legalised cannabis in New York.
“The prices of wine by glass and bottle will continue to be more expensive in New York, where restaurants are already running under such a thin profit margin,” Monaghan said.
Andrew Liesy, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, agreed that the customs costs will ultimately be borne by the consumer.
“Tax on alcohol will force you to reduce the costs of restaurants and bars that offer imported wine and spirit, raise customer prices, absorb financial blows, and remove many wines and spirits from the menu.
