Waffle House, other companies add egg surcharge amid shortage

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Cameron Mitchell Restaurants founder and CEO Cameron Mitchell unpacks the impact of the the disease on the cost of goods on 'The Claman Countdown.'

Consumers are not only feeling the effects of high egg prices at the grocery store. Now, they're facing surcharges at restaurants.

Ongoing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) «is making eggs as expensive for restaurants as they are for consumers, according to National Restaurant Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Sean Kennedy, who noted that the „price increase is especially hard for breakfast-focused restaurants to manage.“ 

A prime example is the Waffle House, a Southern breakfast food chain Waffle House that implemented a temporary .50 per egg surcharge to all of its menus on Monday. 

The company blamed the ongoing egg shortage caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) — or bird flu — for the dramatic increase in egg prices, saying that „consumers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions.“ 

EGG PRICES AREN'T COMING DOWN ANYTIME SOON, EXPERTS SAY

In an aerial view, a Waffle House restaurant on July 30, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida.  ( Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Experts have long warned that egg prices are likely to remain high as outbreaks of HPAI — or bird flu — continue to impact the U.S. laying hen flock, leading to higher prices in stores. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted that egg prices, which can vary significantly from month to month, will increase by more than 20% by 2025.

According to the USDA, prices were 36.8% higher in December 2024 than a year earlier, but they were still below peak prices in January 2023.

Waffle House said, „Rather than increasing prices