Los Angeles small business owner takes wait-and-see approach after Trump’s tariffs are struck down

Small business owners like Melkon Khosrovian, the owner of Greenbar Distillery in Los Angeles, are taking a wait-and-see approach after the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s main tariffs on Friday.

And after a punishing year that saw steep levies dent their bottom line, many aren’t expecting rebate checks yet.

“We’re not that confident we’re going to either get the money back or not have to pay a similar amount of tariffs going forward,” Khosrovian told The Post. “I’m dubious.”

Last year, tariffs jacked up the price of glass bottles from China, exotic spices from India and coffee from Brazil for the spiritmaker, who uses the items to make canned espresso martinis.

He said he didn’t raise prices even though tariffs ate up about 20% of the profit margin at the distillery, which he co-founded in 2004 to sell classic liquors and specialty canned cocktails.

In a bid to contain costs over the long run, Khosrovian ordered $400,000 of equipment to automate hard tasks like bottling so he could eventually let go of three of his 15 employees. The equipment is expected to arrive next week.