Waffle House Is Now Charging Extra For Eggs. Here's How Much It'll Cost
The avian flu continues to cause us pain when it comes to egg prices at grocery stores, but restaurants are feeling it too. The popular diner chain, Waffle House, is dealing with the egg shortage by adding a surcharge to each egg served. This comes out to the tune of an additional $0.50 per egg. The surcharge isn't meant to be permanent, however; should market conditions soften, the company may choose to drop the additional fee.
Considering Waffle House specializes in breakfast food, it should come as no surprise to you then that eggs are its best seller. According to the company, it serves 272 million eggs per year (second runner up is hashbrowns at 153 million orders), so any increase in its bestseller's base cost could easily cause some serious financial upset for the company. Waffle House has approximately 2,100 locations, so that's a lot of eggs that are currently affected. Your All-Star Special just got at least $1 more expensive.
Egg prices are at an all-time high right now
Unfortunately, with the egg shortage still in full swing, the cost of a dozen eggs at the store is projected to go up even further this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has predicted that prices are going to rise another 20% with no clear resolution in sight. Even if the avian flu outbreak suddenly ceased, it still takes quite a bit of time to grow hens to egg-laying size, approximately 26 weeks (or 6.5 months). And at first, the eggs from those chickens start off small until the birds fully mature to the point where they produce the larger-sized ones we typically seek out at the supermarket.
But the flu is ongoing. When a flock contracts the virus, it must be culled as the influenza can spread through the flock rapidly, killing birds within mere hours. I hate to say it, but we're in it for the long haul on this one. Our breakfasts and baked goods are only going to cost more this year, especially at the diner.