With President Trump announcing sweeping tariffs on imports, businesses that rely on goods from out of the country are worried.

In order to stay in business, many fear, they will have to pass on the extra costs to their customers.

Lotus Cuisine in San Rafael opened almost 30 years ago. Surinder Sroa, commonly known as Pal by his customers, was born in India and grew up in the grocery and spice business. 

He was craving a taste of home, something he couldn't find in Marin County.

"From there I had food at an Indian restaurant and did not have a good experience," Sroa said. "I told my wife Linda, 'I'm going to open a restaurant.'"

Since then, the Lotus brand of restaurants and market have been a huge success.

But running a restaurant has come with its challenges. He saID business in March was down 20% compared to last year. Now, he's worried about how the tariffs will impact his bottom line.

"We just bought coconut oil today," he said. "It used to be $50. Today it was $59. So, God knows what it's going to be tomorrow when we shop."

He said a lot of the ingredients used in his dishes come from India, which was hit with a 26% tariff and Thailand which is expecting a 36% tariff.

"All our spices for our ingredients for our cooking has to come from that part of the world," he said. "That makes a difference in the cuisine. Otherwise, it's not the same cuisine."

Sroa has been preparing for the possibility of these tariffs for a while.

"It's just getting more inventory because we don't know what the inventory is going to be," he said. "Is it going to run out or not, so we're just being prepared."

Sroa said he's not planning to make any price changes on the menu yet. Raising prices is the last thing he wants to do.

"Right now we are absorbing the cost but I think if it's going to continue and we don't make money, then we have to pass it on to the customer," he said. "In the end, the customer has to pay."