Waffle House announced it will be adding a $0.50 surcharge to all egg items on the menu sold at its over 2,000 locations due to soaring egg prices caused by the bird flu.
The surcharge went into effect Monday.
In a statement, the comfort food franchise said the surcharge was triggered by the highly infectious virus, which has affected the chicken population and caused an egg shortage. Over 13 million hens have been lost or slaughtered since December following the bird flu outbreak, according to the Agriculture Department’s latest Egg Markets Overview.
Economists and market analysts have cited the bird flu as the chief reason for the price spike, along with the typical consumer demand for eggs during the winter holiday season.
“Consumers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions,” Waffle House, Inc. said in the statement.
The franchise said the $0.50 increase “is a temporary targeted surcharge” tied to the rise in egg prices, and that they “will adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow.”