Waffle House places egg surcharge as nationwide shortage continues

Under the pressure of soaring egg prices amid a nationwide shortage instigated by the avian flu outbreak, Waffle House placed a 50 cent per egg surcharge on its menu items.

Waffle House isn’t alone. Restaurants, retailers, and especially breakfast-heavy places in the country are feeling the pinch of the egg prices, which have gone up 50% in the past 12 months.

Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a dozen eggs hit $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November. The prices are forecast to increase 20% this year, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Eggs are Waffle House’s most-ordered item, surpassing even waffles. It serves 272 million eggs annually, per its website. While the franchise mentioned it is monitoring egg prices to adjust or remove the surcharge, relief is far-fetched for Americans.

A dozen cage-free eggs at Whole Foods in NYC cost $11.99. Some grocery stores are even restricting the number of cartons customers can buy.

Egg prices are causing heist
Last week, robbers stole around 100,000 organic eggs worth $40,000 from a distribution trailer at Pete & Gerry’s Organics in Greencastle, Pennsylvania.

State police are investigating the theft and urging anyone with information to come forward.

The bird flu epidemic that began in 2022 resulted in 108 million birds—75 million of those were laying eggs—being put down, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation; 29 million were culled just since October.