The price of eggs has skyrocketed, hitting Philly breakfast spots and consumers hard

From her Point Breeze brunch bistro, Mallory Fix-Lopez has watched the price of eggs creep up.

A year ago, a case of 30 dozen cost her about $50. Last week, she said, it cost $127.

On Point Bistro, which she owns with her husband and head chef, Juan Lopez, goes through about 1,200 eggs a week.

The couple have raised prices on menu items about $2 across the board over the course of the pandemic, with omelets now costing $15, she said. But their net profit continues to be “significantly lower” than it was pre-COVID, despite a revenue jump of about 20% over the same period.

“At this point, I feel like if places don’t raise prices, they’re going to go out of business,” Fix-Lopez said. But “at what point do people stop ordering omelets? You can’t pay $20 for an omelet.”

After months of market volatility, the skyrocketing price of eggs marks just the latest financial hit for small-business owners and consumers.

The increase comes amid an egg shortage caused in part by an outbreak of bird flu, which has drastically reduced the nation’s egg supply. Steps to reduce the spread of the virus among flocks have led to the culling of tens of millions of laying hens across the country, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Emily Metz, president and chief executive of the American Egg Board, told the New York Times last week that rising fuel, feed, and packaging costs have also contributed to the scarcity.

As a result, the average price of a dozen large grade-A eggs shot up to $4.25 in December, compared with $1.92 the previous January, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Shoppers in the Philadelphia region have felt the sticker shock.

“It is just outrageous,” said Joy Campbell, 38, of Paulsboro, who uses eggs in meals for herself and her 6- and 8-year-old children at least every other day. “A couple times I’ve just walked out of stores because I’ve just been, like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me?’”

Eggs are a main source of protein in her household, she said, but she may have to cut back if prices keep increasing.

In King of Prussia, Michael Sheinbaum, 55, is keenly familiar with the fluctuations in egg prices over the last year. An avid cook for himself and his wife, he usually keeps two 18-count containers of eggs in their apartment refrigerator, cooking some for breakfast and hard-boiling the rest for other meals, such as tuna salad.

“We haven’t eaten less eggs,” he said. But “if it got any more expensive, we probably would.”

“The price is bad,” he added. Though “it’s like the price of gas. At what point do you stop driving so much?”

Sheinbaum said that in recent weeks he has waited a bit longer to restock his second 18-count pack, scouring the shelves of the local Giant, Lidl, and Aldi for the best deals.

Earlier this week, he came across 18-packs for less than $6 at one store.

“I said, ‘Woah, under $6. I haven’t seen under $6 for an 18-count in awhile,” he said. “Hey, this is a good deal.”

He posted his findings in a neighborhood Facebook group, in case others were on a similar egg hunt.

Within minutes, he said, someone reacted with a laughing emoji, which is not a response he received on past posts about the latest supermarket deals. He found the reaction “telling,” he added, and it made him think about what constitutes a good deal in these times.

Sheinbaum’s post is one of many that has sparked angry, frustrated, and at times humorous discussion on nearly every social media platform in recent weeks. The shortage has inspired viral memes, videos, and at least one TikTok rap that includes the catchy lyrics: “These egg prices got me shakin’, so we only eatin’ grits and bacon.” The video had gotten 295,500 views as of Friday.

At the Westmont Diner in Haddon Township, owner Chris Prentzas said the egg shortage had one positive impact on his business, which usually goes through 12,000 eggs a week. The situation prompted him to switch this month from conventional to pasture-raised eggs, a move he’d been mulling for awhile. In the current market, he said, the cost through his supplier is not much different from conventional eggs, though he declined to specify what he was paying.

Still, Prentzas said, he plans to raise menu prices soon due to so many increased costs, including other food items and payroll. He anticipates that his customers will understand.

“Everybody goes to the supermarket, and everybody sees all the increases happening,” he said. “It’s not just the eggs; it’s all over.”

At Hymie’s Deli, owner Louis Barson said he has adjusted prices three times in the last year due to rising costs of everything from romaine and iceberg lettuce to turkey and bacon to fish. In his more than three decades of owning the Merion Station landmark, he would typically change menu prices once every two years.

“Everything this year has gone up so much,” Barson said. “I’m almost numb to it as this point.”

Hymie’s goes through about 5,400 eggs a week. The chefs use them in breakfast items, such as omelets, platters, and pancake and waffle mix, as well as in their potato latkes and matzo balls.

With the cost he’s paying for a dozen eggs up more than $4 over what he paid just months ago, “it’s a ton of money per year” that’s being lost, he said. But as a longtime restaurant owner, and one who has weathered the pandemic, he said he’s become less anxious about factors outside of his control.

“Does it affect your bottom line? Yes,” Barson said. “Do I lose sleep over the price of eggs? No, I don’t.”

“It’ll come back down, like everything else,” he said matter-of-factly. “They’ll solve the problem.”