The current bird flu outbreak has caused a huge decline in egg production over the last few months due to contamination risks. Inventory has fallen around 2% overall, making it harder for the industry to keep up with consumer demand as the days go by.
This egg shortage has caused prices to skyrocket, with a 12-count carton of eggs costing approximately $8.50 in New York and up to over $10 in some states. This is a huge jump from the beginning of this year when eggs reached $5 per dozen, which now seems like a bargain in comparison.
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of eggs recently rose to an all-time high, rising over 15%. This was themost significantt increase since June 2015, accounting for about two-thirds of the monthly food-at-home increase.
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Due to the continuous rise in food prices overall, restaurants, especially diners, are struggling to survive.
American diners are known for serving large portions at a lower price than most breakfast places. Unfortunately for these establishments, some of their key ingredients, eggs and milk, have become a luxury to afford or even obtain.
Diners are forced to increase prices to make ends meet
Over the last few days, small local diners have increased prices on menu items containing eggs to make ends meet, which was expected since they tend to generate less revenue and have less investment capability than the usual company-owned restaurants.
However, the fluid state of the economy has now trickled down to even some of the biggest American diner chains.
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Waffle House became popular for being a traditional Southern comfort breakfast food diner with incredibly affordable prices. However, in this economy, even the cheapest chains are forced to increase their prices to cover the rising costs of their ingredients.
Earlier this month, Waffle House implemented a 50-cent surcharge per egg on all its menus nationwide. Although this is a phenomenon for the chain, it’s not the first or last diner chain to increase the prices of its egg-based menu items.
Denny’s adds surcharges to its menu items containing eggs
On Monday, Denny’s (DENN) announced it will temporarily add surcharges to menu items containing eggs since prices have skyrocketed over the last few months. Denny’s will implement the price increases based on the market and location.
“Denny’s remains committed to providing our guests with delicious meals they love at the value they expect. We do our best to plan ahead with our vendors on items like eggs to minimize market volatility’s impact on our costs and menu pricing,” said Denny’s in a press release.
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The company continued to emphasize its commitment to providing guests with value options, stating that it will continue to offer its limited-time $2 $4 $6 $8 menu while navigating the ever-evolving economy.
Denny’s didn’t disclose which specific locations will be subjected to these price increases or by how much because the company says the market is changing rapidly and unexpectedly.
This could mean that Denny’s price increases will be applied to more locations than expected throughout the year.
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