Caroline Neal
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In Glenview, Illinois, eggs cost $8.79 on Jan. 10. In the Midwest, egg prices have increased 102.6% compared to February 2024. |
RACINE COUNTY — Local breakfast diners and cafes in Racine County are feeling the impact of rising egg prices because of the avian flu outbreak.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in the United States, egg prices have increased 96.8% since February 2024, with consumers paying around $5.89 for a dozen of large, grade A eggs.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, wholesale egg prices declined “sharply” this month but are predicted to increase 57.6% in 2025.
Last year, egg farmers nationwide lost 38.4 million birds because of avian flu, USDA data showed.
“It’s a lot for restaurants to absorb, particularly in smaller cities like Racine,” said Corey Oakland, owner of Red Onion Cafe. “Eggs are such a heavily used product. For us, as a breakfast restaurant, that impacts certain things.”
Data indicates the Midwest has seen a similar increase: Up from $2.90 in February 2024, grocery shoppers paid $5.89 for a dozen of large, grade A eggs last month, marking a 102.6% increase in the region.
Both Jordan Bashayreh, manager at Meli Cafe Pancake House and Restaurant, and Michael Scamarcia, owner of Douglas Avenue Diner, said increasing egg prices are affecting their businesses.
“The margin is not there anymore, but we cannot also increase prices on consumers and customers,” Bashayreh said. “So we drop down in our margin to keep the price reasonable for customers.”
Some restaurants, like Denny’s and Waffle House, announced surcharges in February to keep up with rising prices.
For Scamarcia, the rising prices were “the cost of doing business.”
“As a consumer, I don’t want to be nickeled and dimed to death,” he said.
Bashayreh, too, said he did not consider a surcharge because it would have to apply to most menu items.
“Pancakes have eggs, French toast has eggs, crepes have eggs, omelets, skillets — the main ingredient here is eggs,” he said.
Though Oakland said Red Onion recently increased its prices to keep up with inflation, the restaurant did not add a surcharge for eggs.
“I don’t believe necessarily in some of the fees I’ve been hearing about because in the end, for sure it hurts and it’s an increase,” he said. “But when you look at it in the biggest pictures, if you have one egg on something, it’s not an incredible expense.”
Restaurant owners like Scamarcia, Oakland and Bashayreh buy eggs through a distributor.
Each week, Scamarcia orders around 4,500 eggs, and Bashayreh said he receives at least 9,000 eggs with each order.
Scamarcia has noticed a decline in prices: The week of March 24, 15 dozen eggs cost about $75; the week before, the same amount cost around $120.
For Oakland, ordering eggs was “almost like a game.”
With each order, the prices would increase at least $10, eventually getting to $130 and $140 per case.
But, he’s also noticed a decrease in his last two invoices.
“It looks like maybe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel at this point,” he said. “Hopefully it goes down just as quickly. It’s one of those things sometimes where prices go up super, super quick, but it takes a long time to get them back down.”
Even with prices decreasing, however, Scamarcia said he is still paying more than double what he paid before they increased.
“Still have to contend with that,” he said. “It’s still higher than what we were paying.”
Bashayreh echoed this sentiment, noting that when egg prices have risen previously, they’ve never fully come back down.
According to Bashayreh, eggs were around $10 in 2019 and 2020.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, prices rose to $70-$90 per case. Prices later decreased to $40-$50, he said, but did not return to $9.
Bashayreh said he is expecting a similar trend this time around.
“It’s not going to go back like before the bird flu,” he said. “It’s going to go down a little bit, but it’s not going to go like before.”
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