Denny’s, the popular American diner chain, has reportedly joined a growing number of restaurants responding to the nationwide egg shortage by adding a temporary surcharge to its egg-based meals at some locations.
The egg shortage is driven by an ongoing bird flu outbreak that has decimated flocks across the U.S. since the beginning of 2022. Egg supplies have dwindled and prices have soared as a result, forcing many businesses to adapt.
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“Our pricing decisions are being made market-by-market, and restaurant-by-restaurant due to the regional impacts of the egg shortage,” Denny’s said in a statement to multiple outlets.
CNN reached out to Denny’s for comment.
The chain, which boasts more than 1,500 restaurants, declined to specify how many locations are affected or the exact amount of the surcharge, according to the reported statement.
Despite the price increases, Denny's emphasized its commitment to diners’ appetite for value amid “rapidly changing market dynamics.”
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Menu prices at U.S. restaurants are rising as avian flu has killed more than 140 million egg-laying birds in the country since 2022. At least 18.9 million birds have been culled in the past 30 days alone, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The impact on prices has been clear. The average cost of a dozen large, grade-A eggs climbed to $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Swallowing egg costs
Earlier this month, Waffle House, another storied U.S. diner chain, introduced a temporary 50-cent surcharge per egg, citing the “nationwide rise in cost of eggs,” CNN previously reported.
The Georgia-based franchise, which has about 2,100 US locations, said it is “continuously monitoring egg prices” and may adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions improve.
Bakeries are feeling the squeeze, too. Scott Auslander, general manager of the Washington, DC, bakery Bread Furst, said the surge in egg prices has been unprecedented.
“Our suppliers are telling us that they don’t know when egg prices are going to come down — or if they’re going to come down,” Auslander told CNN. “Eggs are outrageous.”
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Bread Furst uses 150 eggs daily and has seen its costs more than double over the past year, Auslander said. The bakery recently raised prices on all of its egg-heavy items — about a third of the menu — including its signature “messy egg sandwich,” which now costs a dollar more.
“We’ve really never had to think about the cost of eggs until now,” Auslander said.
Major U.S. retailers, including Costco and Trader Joe’s, have had to take action as well, imposing limits on how many eggs one customer can buy.
Seeking solutions abroad
The egg crisis has pushed American businesses to seek alternatives abroad. CNN previously reported Turkey has stepped in to meet the demand, with producers there planning to export 420 million eggs to the US this year, the highest on record and nearly six times last year’s US export total, according to estimates from Turkey’s Egg Producers Central Union.
Turkey is currently the only foreign country that exports eggs to the U.S., according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Amid the shortage, more than 90 people were stopped from smuggling raw eggs from Mexico into the U.S. since January, US Customs and Border Protection said last week in a news release.
CBP urges travelers to declare all agricultural products to avoid fines and safeguard public health.
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“Failure to declare may lead to potential fines and penalties,” the agency said in the statement. CBP said its agriculture specialists have issued 16 civil penalties, totaling nearly $4,000, for violations involving raw eggs and other prohibited items.
The added egg-related costs trickling into various aspects of the US economy aren’t likely to go away any time soon. With flocks taking months to replenish, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects egg prices could rise another 20% this year, leaving businesses and consumers alike scrambling to adapt for the foreseeable future.
CNN’s Juliana Liu, Jordan Valinsky, Bryan Mena and Vanessa Yurkevich contributed to this report.
