The chaos attributable to President Trump’s tariffs has been a sour candy to swallow for a sweet shop from the scion of the famed Zabar family, Side Dish has learned.
Sasha Zabar, whose grandfather opened the upscale food market on the Upper West nearly a century ago, will open a candy store on the Upper East Side on Thursday.
But opening Glace Candy, positioned round the corner to the 34-year-old sugar maven’s viral hit ice cream and hot chocolate flagship shop Glace, was marred by uncertainty due to Trump’s trade war.
“There was a definite price change on ingredients, packaging and more. It seems like we got hit just before we opened,” Zabar told Side Dish.
“I’m eating the associated fee, not constructing it into the retail price.”
Trump announced universal tariffs of 10% and stiffer reciprocal taxes on April 2, before pausing the heavier levies for 90 days.
Much of Glace Candy’s offerings are from European countries like Sweden, in addition to Japan. Some shipments he bought before latest tariffs kicked in — and the costs modified while they were in the course of the ocean, Zabar said.
So he decided to attend before ordering more. But waiting meant a change within the weather — and that meant he could not ship the candy.
“We missed the cool window for shipping and needed to air freight, which tripled our costs,” Zabar said.
Zabar has also opted to skip custom packaging from China due to tariff uncertainties, before the 2 nations reached a truce on Monday. His orders were too small for custom factories within the US
“There isn’t much manufacturing capability for small, custom packaging within the US,” Zabar said, adding that China, Vietnam and India are higher equipped.
He’s now cheaper, newer options in Dubai and elsewhere within the Middle East — but he can’t order without seeing the standard.
“I haven’t modified retail prices to date, but we’ll see. If we are able to’t find cost savings elsewhere, sooner or later we’ll must,” Zabar said.
Even before tariffs, “chocolate and eggs were going through the roof,” he added, while costs for items like molds from France also increased 10% because of tariffs.
“At the tip of the day, the tariffs were an enormous threat and an enormous worry, but they didn’t add to our costs as much because the uncertainty, which delayed our decision making.”
Glace Candy, at 1266 Madison Ave, will offer candies and sweet treats, in addition to homemade gummy and sour candies, inspired by his favorite childhood candy spot, Millionaire Deli, which was within the space that Glace currently occupies.
The colourful concoctions within the shop’s bins are from Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Canada, USA and Turkey. Zabar is charging $19 a pound for all bin candies.
They include Zabar’s personal creations, like small-batch chocolates, sour gummies and fruit candies sourced with ingredients from local farms, in addition to marshmallow creations based on Glace’s hit S’mores Hot Chocolate Marshmallow Halo.
The costs are comparable other high-quality candy shops pricey imported goodies like Bon Bon, which charges $19.50 a pound, Little Sweet Treat ($19.40) and Dylan’s Candy Bar ($19).
The Glace Candy space has a separate entrance but is connected inside through an arched path to Glace. Each shops were designed by Faber/Hughes.
Shoppers also can select their favorite candies and have them mixed into ice creams and sorbets like Brown Butter Vanilla, Creme Brulee and Meyer Lemon for a good more personalized, interactive experience.
Glace isn’t low-cost — $7.50 for one scoop, $10 for 2 scoops, $8 for soft serve and $12 sundaes — but it surely remains to be accessible, Zabar said.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
The chaos attributable to President Trump’s tariffs has been a sour candy to swallow for a sweet shop from the scion of the famed Zabar family, Side Dish has learned.
Sasha Zabar, whose grandfather opened the upscale food market on the Upper West nearly a century ago, will open a candy store on the Upper East Side on Thursday.
But opening Glace Candy, positioned round the corner to the 34-year-old sugar maven’s viral hit ice cream and hot chocolate flagship shop Glace, was marred by uncertainty due to Trump’s trade war.
“There was a definite price change on ingredients, packaging and more. It seems like we got hit just before we opened,” Zabar told Side Dish.
“I’m eating the associated fee, not constructing it into the retail price.”
Trump announced universal tariffs of 10% and stiffer reciprocal taxes on April 2, before pausing the heavier levies for 90 days.
Much of Glace Candy’s offerings are from European countries like Sweden, in addition to Japan. Some shipments he bought before latest tariffs kicked in — and the costs modified while they were in the course of the ocean, Zabar said.
So he decided to attend before ordering more. But waiting meant a change within the weather — and that meant he could not ship the candy.
“We missed the cool window for shipping and needed to air freight, which tripled our costs,” Zabar said.
Zabar has also opted to skip custom packaging from China due to tariff uncertainties, before the 2 nations reached a truce on Monday. His orders were too small for custom factories within the US
“There isn’t much manufacturing capability for small, custom packaging within the US,” Zabar said, adding that China, Vietnam and India are higher equipped.
He’s now cheaper, newer options in Dubai and elsewhere within the Middle East — but he can’t order without seeing the standard.
“I haven’t modified retail prices to date, but we’ll see. If we are able to’t find cost savings elsewhere, sooner or later we’ll must,” Zabar said.
Even before tariffs, “chocolate and eggs were going through the roof,” he added, while costs for items like molds from France also increased 10% because of tariffs.
“At the tip of the day, the tariffs were an enormous threat and an enormous worry, but they didn’t add to our costs as much because the uncertainty, which delayed our decision making.”
Glace Candy, at 1266 Madison Ave, will offer candies and sweet treats, in addition to homemade gummy and sour candies, inspired by his favorite childhood candy spot, Millionaire Deli, which was within the space that Glace currently occupies.
The colourful concoctions within the shop’s bins are from Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Canada, USA and Turkey. Zabar is charging $19 a pound for all bin candies.
They include Zabar’s personal creations, like small-batch chocolates, sour gummies and fruit candies sourced with ingredients from local farms, in addition to marshmallow creations based on Glace’s hit S’mores Hot Chocolate Marshmallow Halo.
The costs are comparable other high-quality candy shops pricey imported goodies like Bon Bon, which charges $19.50 a pound, Little Sweet Treat ($19.40) and Dylan’s Candy Bar ($19).
The Glace Candy space has a separate entrance but is connected inside through an arched path to Glace. Each shops were designed by Faber/Hughes.
Shoppers also can select their favorite candies and have them mixed into ice creams and sorbets like Brown Butter Vanilla, Creme Brulee and Meyer Lemon for a good more personalized, interactive experience.
Glace isn’t low-cost — $7.50 for one scoop, $10 for 2 scoops, $8 for soft serve and $12 sundaes — but it surely remains to be accessible, Zabar said.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
