Happy times at Lush Wine & Spirits, if not for tariff uncertainty

When President Donald Trump moved back into the White House in January 2025, one of Mitch Einhorn's biggest worries was increased tariffs.

A year later, the co-owner of Lush Wine & Spirits said tariffs are still top of mind.

Since 2005, Lush has positioned itself as a friendly, accessible wine shop paired with a cozy bistro, with locations in Roscoe Village and West Town. Customers can buy a bottle and uncork it in the restaurant, or they can try a glass with dinner and buy a bottle to take home.

Menu items range from imported caviar service to sandwiches and seafood. Brunch items include avocado fried egg toast, Georgian cheese bread and brioche French toast.

With so many imported items, the business is especially vulnerable to the rapid-fire tariffs Trump has announced, then often pulled back, throughout the first year of his second term.

"It's just so arbitrary," Einhorn, 63, said.

Since August, U.S. importers of European wines have been paying 15% tariffs. The taxes are typically passed down to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Last month, Trump threatened 10% tariffs — rising to 25% by June — on products from eight European countries unless the U.S. was allowed to purchase Greenland. Shortly after, he threatened 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne after France's President Emmanuel Macron snubbed an invitation to join Trump's new Board of Peace, comprised of a group of world leaders, who can pay a $1 billion admission fee for a lifetime membership, with Trump as chairman for as long as he likes.

The wildly-fluctuating tariffs were heartburn-inducing for Einhorn, who said he had orders in transit from France when the 200% tariff was suggested.

Within a week, Trump backed off on Greenland-related threats and has stopped mentioning 200% tariffs on French imports. But Einhorn said the unpredictability is harmful. He decided to pause further purchases until things settle down.

He also worries about people whose livelihoods are connected to imports, such as port workers, truckers and retail employees.

"When you think about how many hands touch a product, ... it impacts a lot of people," he said.

Einhorn wonders whether the president realizes the downstream harm that such threats can cause.

"When was the last time he went out to eat and picked up the bill?" he said.

Food prices have also been another sore spot over the past year, he said.

One of Einhorn's joys is creating new menu items, like the seasoned and poached scrambled eggs for brunch.

But he said ingredient prices remain high and it puts pressure on him to raise prices, which he doesn’t want to do.

"How do you fix your pricing of products and services to guests? How do guests afford that?" he said.

One triumph in 2025 was getting a building permit to expand the Roscoe Village location at 2232 W. Roscoe St. Sales there were up by 1% over 2024, while the West Town space, 1412 W. Chicago Ave., saw sales dip by 9%.

But the Roscoe Village expansion comes with a hurdle — rising construction costs. Einhorn said he's working on a math problem: Will increasing its footprint to four storefronts, with a bigger kitchen, more seating and more store shelves, translate to more customers and revenue?

He said owning a small business comes with hassles but it can also be exhilarating.

He's working with a vineyard in Washington that's producing a white, rosé and two red wines exclusively for the store. He’s also working on a longer-term project with a winemaker in France.

And he's writing new recipes, as always.

Einhorn said his goal is to make Lush the best place to buy a bottle and eat a reasonably-priced gourmet meal.

"If you stop learning and doing new stuff, you cease to exist," he said.