The San Diego owner of this popular Asian grocery store is scrambling for alternatives to Chinese imports as a tariff loophole expires — here's how grocers and consumers are feeling the pinch

That leaves small businesses like San Diego’s Vien Dong Supermarket scrambling to manage rising costs.

Owner Nicholas Tran has already felt the impact. He told Fox5 News that the wholesale prices he’s paying for his products are up 10%, “but 10% you can work with.”

For now, Tran says, his business will absorb some of the added costs to support customers living paycheck to paycheck.

“In the short term, we decided as a company to do this for the community,” he said.

But he acknowledges that he can’t sustain this in the long term, and he’s already raised prices on some items in the store.

Loophole closes, prices rise

For example, the store's top-selling fish sauce is up 50%, now retailing for $8.99.

Regular customers like Emilio Danque are noticing the changes and having to make different — and sometimes tough — choices.

“(It's) $5.99 for Dungeness crabs,” Danque said. “Now, it’s $10.99, so forget that, I’m not eating that.”

Tran is exploring alternative suppliers from other countries to replace Chinese imports.

“All this is short-term strategy, so it’s on the fly,” he noted.

The situation at the Vien Dong Supermarket is a case study in how the tariffs are impacting grocers and their customers across the country.

With the loophole closed, grocers are paying tariffs on imports of everyday products like bananas, tomatoes, avocados and cucumbers. In turn, they have no choice but to pass these costs on to consumers.

And if that weren't enough, the broader economic context exacerbates these challenges.