Coffee Shops & Snack Bars NAICS 722515

Jul 14, 2025 - Enduring Demand for Premium Coffee Experiences

• While Starbucks struggles, smaller upstart coffee chains are succeeding by offering a more premium, coffee-centric experience, founder of the Australian-style coffee chain Bluestone Lane Nicholas Stone said during an interview at the National Restaurant Association Show in June. One reason legacy brands are struggling may be because they’ve pulled back from coffee, focusing instead on refreshers, energy drinks, and other beverages. “I don’t see that demand for more premium coffee going anywhere,” Stone said, adding smaller chains offer an affordable luxury experience that encourages customers to linger, as opposed to fast in-and-out service. Small coffee chains have seen visits grow recently, according to Placer.ai, with much of that growth concentrated in longer 10-plus minute visits, suggesting consumers are looking for something other than speed at many cafes. Matcha and cold brew are other strong opportunities for coffee shops, Stone says.
• A federal judge has dismissed allegations that Peet’s Coffee discriminated against the lactose intolerant by charging extra for non-dairy alternative milks, Bloomberg Law reported in May. The proposed class action suit brought by Keith Gibson Law (KGL) alleged Peet’s violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to make accommodations for people with milk allergies and imposing a surcharge despite a lack of meaningful differences between the cost of regular and non-dairy milks. In his dismissal the judge ruled “Peet’s pricing policy is facially neutral and applies equally to customers who are not lactose intolerant but prefer non-dairy alternatives in their drinks.” KGL has filed similar lawsuits against numerous coffee chains, including most recently, Dunkin’, all of which have been dismissed. Amid consumer pushback against surcharges for non-dairy milks Peet’s, along with Starbucks, Dunkin’ and other coffee chains have recently stopped charging extra for non-dairy milks.

• President Trump’s tariff blitz threatens to raise the price of coffee drinks, CBS News reports. Currently, there is a 10% base global tariff in place on all US coffee imports. Countries including India, Indonesia, Vietnam and other coffee-producing nations are subject to even higher levies, which the administration has paused for 90 days. A mere 1% of the coffee consumed in the US is sourced domestically, mostly from Hawaii and Puerto Rico, according to the National Coffee Association. The rest – 99% of raw coffee beans – is imported. Coffee bean prices were already soaring due to unfavorable weather in key producing countries, including Brazil and Colombia, before tariffs threatened to raise prices even more. The duties, called "reciprocal tariffs," are making it more expensive for coffee shops to import beans and absorb other costs of doing business, with some shops already passing their elevated costs on to customers.
• Restaurants are projected to add 490,000 jobs this summer, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 27th annual Eating and Drinking Place Summer Employment Forecast published in June. Summer hiring is projected to be strongest in Northeastern states, including Maine, Rhode Island, and Delaware, as well as in Alaska, which are projected to see the largest proportional increases in restaurant employment. Per the NRA, the increase in hiring is fueled by a stronger labor pool, especially teens and young adults, returning to the workforce in numbers not seen in years. Employment by snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars grew 3.8% in April compared to a year ago, while average wages rose 4.4% over the same period to $18.91 per hour, pennies short of their high in March, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.