Karen Huebnerová did not want to raise the price of omelettes.
Even though she paid more for eggs a week after a week, she kept prices stable on excessive meals and breakfast Burritos and other favorite customers in Hot Grillz Diner, Small, restaurant her family owns in Walton Hills, Ohio, about 15 miles, about 15 miles, About 15 miles southeast of Cleveland.
But this week the cost of her order of eggs jumped to nearly $ 1,000, which is just a few weeks ago. The moment arrived.
“I said I wouldn’t do it, but it would crush me,” Mrs. Huebner said. “My loyal customers would rather pay 50 cents more eggs than to see the door to close because I can’t pay my rent.”
Given that the wholesale price of eggs – what the retailers and restaurants – reach a new maximum of $ 8.11 per dozen, breakfast specials in some restaurants are more expensive.
Last week, Waffle House He said he would add a temporary surcharge of 50 cents for each egg used in dishes. Throughout the country, smaller restaurant chains and bakeries that use many eggs, either hit prices, or add temporary surcharges and try to hand over part of the cost of inflation tired to customers.
“If you increase the prices too much, you risk loss of customers,” said Ed Powers, director of Broken Yolk Cafe, 40 restaurants chain, mostly in the West, where 70 percent of the items on offer require eggs. The company has reduced costs where it can, but now is considering an increase in the prices of its egg meals. “What is the fair price for the omelet?”
Making scrambled eggs at home is not much cheaper these days. Shoppers in many grocery stores, including Costco and Trader Joe’s, find sparsely filled shelves and brands that limit how many egg cartons can buy at once.
Those who are lucky to find eggs that you can buy pay for them significantly more.
Center Department He said that food prices, which were relatively flat at the end of 2023 and early 2024, rise by 1.9 percent annually, mainly due to egg prices. The price of eggs for consumers has jumped by 15.2 percent over the last four weeks. Since last year, egg prices have risen 53 percent.
At the national level there were a dozen class of class and $ 4.95 in January, which, according to Fred, is a Fered Bank in the economic database of Fered, from $ 2.52 a year ago. (Grocery stores usually price products such as milk and eggs like “loss leaders”, which means they are sold for less than wholesale price paying shops to lure customers to the store.)
Felling prices also led to at least two eggs. At the beginning of February the thieves stolen 100,000 organic eggs worth $ 40,000 from the distribution trailer in Pennsylvania and this week more than 500 eggs They were removed from the café in Seattle in the early morning hours.
How many higher prices will be and how long it will last is difficult to predict. While egg prices were volatile, partly due to inflation, a large part of the recent price increase is attributed to Chip caused by H5N1 virus. When the farm has a confirmed case of the virus, the whole flock must be killed to contain spread. This resulted in more than 45 million chickens-zhruba 15 percent of the national egg-zabito population in the last four months to avoid the spread of illness, according to Karyn Rispoli, EGG Editor in Expansion, which monitors egg prices.
Last week, according to the US Department of Agriculture, more confirmed cases of bird flu in commercial egg operations in Ohio and Pennsylvania were reported.
In New York was ordered by the government of Kathy Hochul Live markets with birds in New York And several surrounding regions to temporarily close themselves in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. Meantime, three ducks At the Queens zoo, he died due to bird flu and up to 12 birds in the Bronx Zoo who died after a possible virus exposition, according to The Wildlife Conservation Society, a non -profit organization that runs parks.
Egg analysts say that two things must occur for mild egg prices: confirmed cases of bird flu must end or end, giving surgery with egg eggs a chance to rebuild their flocks and consumers have to reduce their bulky tendencies. Right now some shoppers are buying eggs that do not need, but fear that they will not be able to get later, which worsens the shortage.
“Consumers have largely adapted to higher food costs, so even for $ 5 per dozen, demand remains strong,” said Rispoli in -mail during the morning when she was busy watching egg prices. “And with eggs that produce national subtitles daily, there may also be an element of panic purchase, further demand for support.”
Yet not all restaurants increase prices. Some, like Cracker Barrel, take advantage of the moment to get a competitive advantage. Cracker Barrel, which directly focuses on the Waffle House, said not only that the prices for egg meals “remained in place”, but also that loyalty to the chain is rewarded by customers who order these items.
Broken Yolk Cafe tried to keep the prices of offers firmly, although the price of its primary component rose. Instead, he tried to reduce additional costs such as reducing credit card fees and cooperation with suppliers to reduce the cost of restaurant supply. She also tried promotional events of non-English dishes like Vegan Burrito, but Mr. Powers said that the chain has few options, but to raise prices for items made from eggs.
“It is not just cost at the moment, it is also a van,” said Mr. Powers, remarking one restaurant in a chain that was inserted in its usual order for 20 egg cases (a case of 15 dozen eggs), which was only received eight out of its supplier. “We were told that it could take six to eight months to see relief.”
