The outbreak of bird flu has caused egg prices to rise dramatically. And even New Yorker's favorite breakfast staple hasn't escaped price hikes.
Delis and Bodegas are slapping high-priced tags close to $8 on their popular bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches as they are hit with rising costs. According to a Bloomberg report.
The National Index of Bacon, Eggs, Cheese, Bread and Coffee – the production of classic New York menu items – has jumped over 20% over the past 12 months as the nationwide bird flu outbreak has caused farmers to cull the flocks of disease, leading to egg shortages.
Local restaurants struggle to break even if the cost of egg cases jumps up at the beginning of the year.
Midtown Deli Café Olympia 55 had expected the wholesale eggs to double from January to $1,000.
To protect their interests, the February 25 store hiked menu prices for bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches to $7.75, according to Bloomberg.
Some customers have complained about the higher prices and have stopped ordering their go-to breakfast sandwiches altogether.
Gavilanes told Bloomberg that the restaurant was “a little late for breakfast” as price increases drove customers away.
“We're trying to deal with the situation, but there are things our customers don't understand and it's a little difficult for us,” Gavilanes added.
First Avenue's NY Grill & Deli also saw that the cost of its wholesale eggs would double from January, according to manager Francis Ayala.
The added cost forced the deli to raise the “BEC” price to $7.45 (an increase of $1).
While New York's breakfast spot has not yet received many complaints from customers, some have avoided the value-before-time lunch menu options, like chicken sandwiches, ayala said.
Customers “know what's going on,” Ayala told Bloomberg. “Unfortunately, we all live it. Thankfully, we have good customers.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans have seen first-hand prices at grocery stores increase prices at grocery stores.
It accounted for about two-thirds of the total price in the supermarket.
Due to the shortage, customers are battling several cartons at grocery stores, and there are owners of major restaurant chains struggling to compete for higher costs.
Waffle House made a headline earlier this month when it added a 50-cent extra to the menu to float during a stifling price hike. Denny's, another big chain specializing in breakfast dishes, quickly followed suit.
