East Village Vietnamese restaurant stockpiling ingredients in wake of Trump's tariff announcement
EAST VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- As the stock market buckles, and the auto industry braces for the impact of President Donald Trump's newly announced tariffs, some restaurants in New York City are faced with the reality of having to change what they serve.
On a balmy muggy spring Thursday night in the East Village, where customers line up for a $6 slice of pizza, and where bars are flowing with booze and patrons, tariff concerns may seem like they belong on another planet.
Inside the Saigon Social Restaurant on Stanton Street, rice rolls and grilled short ribs with lemongrass fly out to the kitchen to a packed room full of carefree diners.
"As I see prices increasing it will make me pause on going out, but not as of today," said patron Crystal Kim.
"I think it is on my mind but it's not impacting my personal spending necessary, but it's in the background," said patron Betty Weir.
The Vietnamese restaurant's chef and owner, Helen Nguyen, though, is not so carefree.
"I like to call it silent panic mode. When like internally there's rollercoasters and tornados happening," she said. "You're feeling numb. It's almost like, oh ok, the pandemic all over again in a sense."
Chef Nguyen is stockpiling about a month's worth of ingredients. About 90% of the restaurant's spices are sourced from Vietnam.
Southeast Asian nations were some of the hardest hit by the Trump tariffs. Vietnam was slapped with 46% tariffs.
The U.S. is Vietnam's largest export market, accounting for almost 30% of its GDP.
Meanwhile, analysts predict the price of rice will increase by 10%.
"Let's just say we were to convert and make all of our noodles in house," Nguyen said. "Vermicelli... the main ingredient is rice. So, even if you're going to mill in house, the main ingredient is rice."
Chef Nguyen is now rethinking the menu, and some suppliers are telling her in a few weeks they may stop sending some ingredients altogether.
She is bracing. She just doesn't know yet exactly what she is bracing for.
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