Denny's is the latest breakfast chain for extra charges for orders containing eggs, which kills millions of egg hens due to bird flu, thus offering shorter merchandise.
The restaurant said the additional temporary fees will vary by region and location. Spartanburg, South Carolina's move comes weeks after breakfast chain Waffle House with an egg Surcharge. According to its website, the 70-year-old Denny brand involves 1,499 restaurants, most of which are in the United States and run by franchisees.
The company said it tried to plan ahead to “minimize the impact of the market on our costs and menu pricing”, but it still had to charge more, given the nationwide shortage of eggs and the increase in costs for eggs.
Waffle House, when it added its 50 cents per egg surcharge earlier this month, said it hoped that the peak of egg prices would be short-lived, but added: “We can't predict how long this shortage will last.”
According to USDA forecasts, the price of eggs will This year it's up 20%.
Three years ago, bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), was confirmed in a commercial flock in the United States. According to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the outbreak has worsened in recent months, with nearly 19 million birds suffering from commercial and backyard flocks over the past 30 days.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of twelve large eggs in January is as high as $4.95, up from $4.15 in December.
Earlier this month, homes at International Pancakes or IHOP showed that the high cost of eggs did not affect the menu prices of its 1,811 restaurants in the U.S. and other countries. The restaurant chain did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
