Concerns Over Tariffs Voiced on Milwaukee Avenue Corridor During National Small Business Week 2025 in Chicago to Durbin and Ramirez

CHICAGO (WLS) — Some local businesses were raising concerns Friday about the impact of tariffs on their operating costs.

This is National Small Business Week.

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Some Illinois Democrats are doing their best to keep up the pressure on the Trump Administration, hoping to bring about change.

The spotlight was on the Milwaukee Avenue Corridor, an area bustling with numerous small businesses. Many of these businesses are feeling the pressure from tariffs and are hopeful that a resolution will be reached soon.

At the family-run Magnifico Coffee in Avondale, they are all about a great cup of joe.

“Coffee is part of my heritage. I’m Colombian. So, we grew up drinking coffee,” Magnifico Coffee co-owner Angelica Acebedo-Frint said.

The tariff on specialty beans imported from South America is causing significant challenges for these businesses, as it results in a roughly 10 percent increase in their expenses.

“We’re tightening our budget a bit, but we’re trying to delay passing any extra costs onto our customers as long as possible. We understand that coffee, for some, is a necessity, and we want to avoid making it too pricey,” Acebedo-Frint explained.

“Coffee is great, the doughnuts are even better,” Sen. Dick Durbin said.

After their coffee shop stop, Durbin, Congresswoman Deliah Ramirez and others took a walk down Milwaukee Avenue, visiting several other small businesses, to learn about the impact of tariffs.

“The tariffs certainly scare us,” said Alan Yuen, who owns Friendship Chinese.

Yuen’s restaurant was founded by his father decades ago.

The tariff war with China is hitting home, with prices for various sauces and food skyrocketing.

“We are afraid that, in the very near future, the price is going to be more than double. And how are we going to survive?” Yuen said.

Democrats in Congress say they will continue to push back.

“And I think the pressure, the conversations, the town halls are working,” said Ramirez, a Democrat representing Chicago and the west suburbs.

“People understand this is a change that can be loss of jobs in the beginning of recession. So, I think that backlash is leading to some Republicans thinking twice about just blindly following the MAGA line,” Durbin said.

While Democrats do what little they can to influence things in Washington, business owners watch the economic swings, hoping for stability, so they can focus on what they do best: serving their customers.