If your budget felt tighter this year, you’re not alone.

Businesses across the state grappled with rising costs in 2025. Burgers, smoothies and your favorite neighborhood latte — many of the little luxuries that made the year more filling — faced pricing surges. Baltimore resident Timothy DeLizza said the “sticker shock” of a $30 bag of coffee beans was enough to make him quit the drink altogether.

“At the end of the day, I’d rather quit than drink expensive cheap coffee,” he wrote in an email, adding that he’d been battling withdrawal headaches.

The Banner spoke to half a dozen Baltimore businesses in an effort to understand some of the largest price hikes facing consumers. We found that after a year of tariffs, trade wars and volatile weather, several local retailers are holding out for a more affordable 2026. But that doesn’t mean the cost of certain beloved foods aren’t still a cause for concern. Here are some of the most pressing scarcities and inflated prices that burnt a hole in customers’ pockets this year.

Beef

Consumer Price Index data shows several cuts of beef were up 20% in September 2025 when compared to the same time last year. (The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics released the most recent data late and with October gaps due to the government shutdown.)

The rising prices contributed to bankruptcy declarations for barbecue chains and smokehouses across the country. Kimberly Doran, a cattle farmer in Harford Country, said her family tries to resist raising prices unless a three-month-or-longer shift in the market requires it to stay competitive. Most of her sales are from their farm direct to the consumer market, and 20% comes from contracts with local restaurants.

“This year’s been an all-time high,” Doran said of beef prices. She raised the price of her filets, New York strips and other popular cuts by $1 per pound. Though the farm was “adamant” about not raising the price of ground beef, she realized there was no other way to compete with cheaply imported beef and raised her price by 50 cents.

A falling cattle population and the rising cost of fuel and meat packaging made 2025 a difficult year.

Grocery shoppers noticed the price: Reports show that consumers purchased less beef this past summer than in previous years.

Coffee

Good Neighbor manager Rida Shahbaz said the Hampden shop has had to be creative to keep from raising prices and deterring customers. The price of roasted coffee was 41% higher in September 2025 than in September 2024, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Soaring coffee prices in August, caused in part by new tariffs on coffee exporters, sent local retailers into a tailspin. Shahbaz raised her shop’s espresso drink by 15 cents as they moved away from heavily taxed Brazilian coffee. A scarcity of beans and poor harvests also contributed to shop owners’ concerns.

Brazilian coffee is still not in Good Neighbor’s price range, and they’ve replaced their previous alternative, an Indonesian blend, with Ethiopian beans, which are more readily available.

“What we saw this year was a big wave, but we rode it out,” Shahbaz said. The coffee market has remained steady, so there’s been no increase to Good Neighbor’s espresso items since August. They’ve seen a recent surge in foot traffic, even as prices remain high compared to recent years.

Fruits

The cost of bananas and other fresh fruits also rose this year. The Consumer Price Index report revealed bananas rose by 9% and oranges by 4%. “I did see the increase for sure,” said Ruth Kidd Johnson, owner of Niecy’s Fabulous Juice Bar in Waltherson.

Johnson raised prices twice this year to account for the rising cost of fruits like strawberries, the cost of which nearly doubled, she said. Johnson’s honeydew and orange juice is no longer in stock since the 60-count box of oranges she usually buys increased by up to $20. Earlier this year, she raised the juice by $2 to try to offset her expenses. She plans on sourcing more of her produce locally, instead of at Restaurant Depot and other major retailers, in the new year to help balance her budget.

At her location on the Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus, customers that used to come in six times a week are now stopping by maybe twice. “Traffic has slowed,” she said. “People are making decisions about whether they’re going out to eat or to get gas.”

Bananas were once considered “inflation proof,” according to CNBC, but taxes against some of the fruits’ leading suppliers, including Guatemala and Ecuador, changed that stability for businesses and consumers. Many of those tariffs, though, were rolled back in November.

Chocolate

Rheb’s Homemade Candies co-owner Jarrod Bradley said the business is seeing record sales after a tumultuous year for cocoa prices. A scarcity of cocoa sparked a near 80% surge in costs at the start of 2025, prompting industry-wide panic.

“We couldn’t just eat that,” he said, adding that Rheb’s increased prices between 2% to 3%. “It caught a lot of people by surprise.” Other retailers followed including Hershey’s, Lindt and Sprungli and Mondelez, known for making Oreo’s and Toblerone. Bradley said the upheaval came from a lack of supply and rising global demand.

Shortages and poor harvests in West Africa, which produces more than half the world’s cocoa beans, exacerbated the issue. Experts say tariffs on European imports and Chinese packaging materials also strained chocolate sellers. Bradley said selling more than chocolate at his shop, which now has a bustling second location in Mount Airy, helped insulate the business from the market’s volatility.

He’s yet to lower prices, instead opting to wait and see what’s to come in the new year. Manufacturers are taking a similar approach, despite the market’s downward trajectory, bringing relief to chocolatiers planning for a more affordable 2026.