You might want to take a seat for this one. As the price of eggs continues to skyrocket amid ongoing Bird Flu, one southern-style restaurant is taking matters into their own hands, and no one is happy about it.
Waffle House announced it’s adding a surcharge to help offset the dramatic rise in the cost of eggs, according to AP News. This means for every egg you order at the restaurant, you can expect an extra $.50 to be added to your bill. Although the company says the surcharge is temporary, there’s no telling when it’ll be removed. So if you like eggs for breakfast, be prepared to pay a pretty penny... or 50 of ‘em.
“While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” the company said in a statement. Eggs prices have risen almost 40 percent in the past year, according to the National Restaurant Association. And with eggs being a household staple, Americans are biting the bullet to buy the bare necessities.
But... that doesn’t mean they’re happy about it! On X, users like @simoneumba were outraged by Waffle House’s announcement. She wrote “THIS IS BLASPHEMY.”
Another user, @OmbreMocha, joked that the surcharge could indeed start a riot, and would anybody blame them? Waffle House isn’t the only breakfast restaurant being affected by these outrageous egg prices. “When shortages like this happen, operators work closely with their food suppliers to determine how it will impact them,” said Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of public affairs at the National Restaurant Association. “There are several options operators consider, from changing their menus to increasing their prices.”
Several people are using the surcharge to cut back on dining at the establishment completely. User @mikhottiee said “Waffle house eggs make me throw up anyways.”
And apparently, she’s not the only person willing to boycott the Georgia-based chain. “They already be havin different prices each time anyway,” @happithehustler tweeted. Waffle House “won’t see me for a min.”
But while people are preparing to stop eating at Waffle House, other loyal customers are coming up with more creative solutions to the problem. X user @lurainrae said “I’ll just bring my own egg then.” To which another user, responded saying “Or bring quarters!!!”
Bird Flu seems to blame for the additional egg prices, but many are pointing the finger at President Donald Trump who promised to bring down egg prices on day one of his second term.
One user, @The_AJSystem, pointed out that despite Americans voting for Trump in part because of his promise to curve grocery prices, those same voters are the ones directly affected by Waffle House’s surcharge.
It’s clear Americans are unhappy with ongoing inflation and Bird Flu affecting the costs of everyday items. With Waffle House, America’s reliable source for cheap breakfast, raising its prices for the unforeseeable future, user @1pyxx declared that the country is in “a national state of emergency.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the price of eggs is expected to increase 20 percent in 2025.