As the price of eggs skyrockets, could the cost be passed on to diners?
The popular breakfast chain Waffle House announced a 50-cent egg surcharge due to the bird flu outbreak and egg shortage.
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Diners and New Jersey go together like bacon and eggs. But as the country scrambles to find ways to beat rising costs, could New Jerseyans have to loosen the purse strings for a meal out?
The popular breakfast chain Waffle House announced a 50-cent egg surcharge due to the bird flu outbreak and egg shortage. Here in the Garden State, local eateries like Skylark Fine Diner and Metuchen Diner say they’re keeping prices where they are.
"We, at this point, would not consider it," said Simone Houser, manager at Skylar Fine Diner in Edison.
Metuchen Diner owner Mike Anastasi echoes those sentiments
"We can not bother the customer every time there’s something,” he said.
Customers like Phyllis Racabich, of Colonia, say if diners charged more she'd have to tip less.
"I think it would be reflective in the tips. They’ll come down and that’s not fair to your server,” Racabich said.
Mike Anastasi is one of the owners of Metuchen Diner. He says that in the last four or five months he’s feeling the squeeze. For a large box of 30 dozen eggs, he’s now paying $225 - nearly triple what he used to pay.
"It just goes up up up,” Anastasi said.
According to the USDA, egg prices could go up another 20% this year.
"We’re almost double of what eggs were back in the summer of 2023,” says Paul Oster, a business and consumer credit expert for Better Qualified.
Oster says New Jerseyans might have to change their habits.
"Maybe it’s time you found a local egg farmer because they’re not directly affected by this supply chain and supply and demand,” he says.
Oster says even if the bird flu is eradicated today, it’ll take months before consumers notice a price drop.
In the meantime, diners like Judy Caliendo from Iselin say they’ll pay more if they have to.
"We have no choice because we like to go out to dinner and lunch and breakfast,” she says.
