Trump’s Tariffs Will Make Chipotle Prices Go Up

Get ready to spend more on mediocre fast-casual

It’s been a few days since President Trump announced plans for wall-to-wall tariffs on Mexican imports to the U.S. Given the sheer quantity of food and alcohol imported from Mexico (to say nothing of other goods), it was clear that tariffs would have a substantial impact on American companies and consumers. Now, companies are weighing in with specifics on how the tariffs will affect them.

Chipotle’s CFO says that the Trump tariffs will cost the company about $15 million this year alone, likely leading to an increase in its menu prices. For now, this number would be barely noticeable at about five cents per burrito, but that’s without considering the ambiguous future plans to raise tariffs further if Trump doesn’t see the immigration results he wants as a result of his plan. If they end up at the proposed high point of 25 percent, you can certainly expect your Chipotle — and beer, and tequila, and TVs — to get quite a bit pricier.

And in other news...

• Fights over Nutella might be a thing again, as workers at the French factory that produces one-quarter of the world’s supply of the hazelnut spread are on strike. [AP]
• New Orleanians are warming everybody’s hearts with spontaneous second-line parades in honor of legendary chef Leah Chase, who died on Saturday. [The Advocate]
• Beer giant Ahheuser-Busch is investing in a huge solar farm, which means every beer the company brews will be made with renewable power by 2021 — four years earlier than the company planned. [FastCompany]
• Food magazine Jarry is launching a directory of queer owned or operated food and drink establishments so you can have a gay ol’ time wherever you’re traveling. [Twitter]
• Restaurateurs are suing delivery service Grubhub for charging excessive fees — but Grubhub is trying to convince a Philadelphia judge to have it dealt with behind closed doors. [NY Post]
• Here’s a first look at upcoming ABC cooking competition, Family Food Fight, which features Ayesha Curry, Graham Elliot, and Cat “I need to speak to your manager” Cora as judges. [EW]
• Can you bring a horse into a McDonald’s? A rather obnoxious British man recently learned that the answer is “nay”. [The Takeout]
• There’s an entire Twitter account dedicated to Keanu Reeves walking into a restaurant in Always Be My Maybe, but with different tunes dubbed over. [Twitter]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]