Waffle House is placing a surcharge on every egg it sells

New York
CNN
 — 

The soaring price of eggs has forced Waffle House to add a temporary surcharge on customers’ orders.

The Georgia-based chain is adding a 50-cent charge per egg because of the “nationwide rise in cost of eggs,” according to signs posted at its restaurants. An aggressive strain of avian flu is hurting supply and causing prices to rise — with no relief in sight.

“The continuing egg shortage caused by HPAI (bird flu) has caused a dramatic increase in egg prices,” Waffle House said in the statement to CNN. “Customers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions.”

Waffle House, which has about 2,100 locations, added in the statement that it’s “continuously monitoring egg prices and will adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow.”

Waffle House serves 272 million eggs per year, making it the chain’s most-ordered item, surpassing hash browns (153 million) and even waffles (124 million), according to its website.

Avian flu has been plaguing farmers and the egg supply since January 2022, resulting in 108 million birds since then — 75 million of those were laying eggs — being slaughtered, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

However, the outbreak has gotten worse in late 2024 because of a resurgence of the virus. Roughly 17 million egg-laying hens were killed in in November and December, which is nearly half of all birds killed by the virus in 2024, according to the USDA.

The average price of a dozen large, grade-A eggs, which Waffle House uses, was $4.15 in December — up from $3.65 in November — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And the cost of eggs will only get worse this year, with prices forecasted to increase 20%, the USDA said.

“Not to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re in this for a while,” said Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board. “Until we have time without a detection, unfortunately this very, very tight egg supply is going to continue.”