A bird flu outbreak has sent egg prices soaring across the board – and even New Yorkers’ favorite breakfast staple hasn’t escaped the price hikes.
Delis and bodegas are slapping higher price tags nearing $8 on popular bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches as they’re hit with rising costs, according to a Bloomberg report.
A national index of bacon, egg, cheese, bread and coffee prices – the makings of a classic New York menu item – has jumped more than 20% over the past 12 months as a nationwide avian flu outbreak forced farmers to cull sick flocks, leading to an egg shortage.
Local restaurants have struggled to break even as the cost of a case of eggs jumped at the start of the year.
Midtown deli Cafe Olympia 55 saw its wholesale egg costs double to $1,000 since January, according to head clerk Rossy Gavilanes.
To protect their profits, the store on Feb. 25 hiked the menu price of its bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a roll to $7.75 – a $2 overnight increase, according to Bloomberg.
Some customers have complained about the higher price and stopped ordering the go-to breakfast sandwich altogether.
Gavilanes told Bloomberg the restaurant is “kind of slow on breakfast” now that price increases have driven away customers.
“We try to go with the situation, but sometimes customers can’t understand and it’s a little bit difficult for us,” Gavilanes added.
NY Grill & Deli on First Avenue has also seen its wholesale eggs costs double since January, according to manager Francis Ayala.
The added costs forced the deli to raise the price of its “BEC” to $7.45 – a $1 increase – two weeks ago.
The New York breakfast spot hasn’t had many complaints from customers yet, though some have shied away from the egg sandwich to better-value lunch menu options, like the chicken sandwich, Ayala said.
The customers are “aware about what’s going on,” Ayala told Bloomberg. “Unfortunately, we’re all living it. Thankfully, we have a good clientele.”
Americans have seen the toll of the bird flu crisis firsthand as prices surge at the grocery store – with the cost of eggs soaring 15.2% in January, the largest increase since June 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That accounted for about two-thirds of the total rise in prices at the supermarket.
Shortages have left customers fighting over a few cartons at the grocery store, and owners of major restaurant chains struggling to contend with higher costs.
Waffle House made headlines earlier this month when it added a 50-cent surcharge per egg to its menus to stay afloat during the stifling price hikes. Denny’s, another large chain that specializes in breakfast dishes, quickly followed suit.
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