The rising price of eggs has been hurting consumers ‘ pockets, and then Waffle House is announcing a temporary price increase, which is raising prices for some companies.
According to advertisements posted inside the cafe and a statement from a company representative, Waffle House has a 50 cent tax on every yolk. The menu’s price increase was chosen to avoid price increases.
The Norcross-based network, The , stated in the declaration that the ongoing animal flu-related egg lack has resulted in” a dramatic increase in chicken prices.”
” Users and restaurants are being forced to make tough decisions”, the statement reads.
Waffle House added that it is constantly monitoring chicken prices and will change or eliminate the tax as market conditions permit. It hopes the price fluctuations did remain short-lived, but” we cannot predict how long this scarcity may continue”, it said in the speech.
The network, which has more than 2, 000 locations across the country, says it sells more than 250 million hens per year and more than a hundred family-operated fields supply its eateries with eggs.
Bird flu and chicken rates
Chicken prices have almost doubled since the start of 2024 according to bird virus spreading through the , U. S.  , meat people and reducing chicken matter.
The average price of a dozen eggs hit$ 4.14 in December, according to the , Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the highest it reached in 2024, though it was not quite as high as January and February of 2023, when prices spiked at$ 4.82 and$ 4.21, respectively.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 strain has caused a lot of disruption to poultry, egg, and dairy farms across the nation. Last month,  , Georgia , reported its , first two detections of bird flu in commercial chicken facilities, raising concerns for the state’s powerhouse poultry industry.
The , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , has  , said the risk to humans from H5N1 is low, but public health officials fear the virus has the potential to morph into a pandemic.
After the first bird flu detection at a , Georgia , facility, the state , Department of Agriculture , announced a statewide suspension of all poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets and sales. A ban on those activities will remain in effect indefinitely.
However, chicken and egg retail sales are not affected.  , Georgia , agriculture officials have stressed the state’s food supply is safe.
Chicken and eggs are tested for the virus before they are harvested, and the , U. S. Department of Agriculture , says the risk of infected meat or eggs entering the supply chain is low. The agency claims that properly cooked and properly cooked chicken and eggs are still safe to eat because the virus is eliminated in the unlikely event that an infected product enters the supply chain.
Broad impact
Waffle House isn’t the only establishment that is affected by egg prices. Metro , Atlanta , restaurateurs and bakers are keeping an eye on the impact to their own suppliers.
Lorenzo Wyche, owner of Breakfast Boys and High Noon Brunchery, said the egg news caught his attention about a week ago, and he’s been monitoring it ever since. Eggs are a significant component of Wyche’s business because the majority of menu items either have eggs on them or are paired with one later.
Wyche claimed that because other suppliers are low on eggs as a result of the outbreak of bird flu, their wholesaler has raised prices.
According to Wyche, the price of a dozen large eggs used to be$ 150, but it is now$ 230. He typically orders about 40 to 50 cases per week, and each case contains 30 dozen eggs.
Wyche said he’ll start ordering medium eggs instead of large ones because it won’t affect brunch shops that serve omelets and scrambled eggs much given the rising prices. He claimed about$ 165 for a case of medium eggs.
But he has made a decision not to raise prices or add a surcharge at this time.
” We’re in the new age of breakfast where we take those margins ourselves”, Wyche said. Because we already charge what you would consider above market for what someone would charge for an omelet, we are not actually as impacted as much. High Noon Brunchery offers omelets for between$ 14 and$ 16.
A traditional diner, on the other hand, keeps its costs low to begin with, he said, so they’re more likely to have to raise prices in order to maintain a margin.
He claimed that “we’ve already kind of built that margin in such a good way that the price fluctuation won’t really kill us.”
Soraya Khoury, chef and owner of brunch restaurant , Hen Mother Cookhouse, said she hasn’t seen a significant price change in her eggs, so she plans to wait it out since it hasn’t affected their bottom line yet. She said she’s more worried about the cost of produce.
She said,” I think it’s just more important to stay consistent and kind of do a little bit more housekeeping, so less waste and attention to portion and things like that.”
SarahO’Brien, owner of Little Tart Bakeshop, said her egg prices recently rose, but like Khoury, it hasn’t been her main concern, she’s seeing higher costs for raw ingredients across the board, especially chocolate and coffee.
She said,” It’s really more of a general increase for us than just a story about the eggs.”
Teresa Finney, who runs bakery At Heart Panaderia from her house, purchases her eggs from local markets, and while they have always been a hefty expense, “lately it’s really been hurting my pockets”, she said in a text message. She wants to expand the eggless and vegan menu options to make up for the costs.
She said,” It definitely feels like I’m being forced to go this route sooner than I’m willing to go.”
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