Egg shortage hits local restaurants and consumers

MORGANE PERRAUD | UNSPLASH

As the price of eggs continue to soar, Charlotte restaurants are passing the pain to customers.

One of the most important food ingredients has turned into a hot commodity amid a national shortage.

Bird flu has impacted the price and availability of eggs – causing consumers to find alternatives.

Many have gotten creative and turned to local farmers to get their hands on eggs for a cheaper price. As of January, the average cost of a dozen eggs in the U.S. is $4.95, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In North Carolina, the average price for a dozen in 2024 was $5.65.

This is not only because of the expensive price tag on eggs but the limit many grocery stores are putting on egg purchases.

“As a mom, it’s definitely tough seeing prices go up while trying to make sure my kids have everything they need,” said Leslie Luque of Charlotte, the mother of two. “Groceries and just everyday essentials all add up quickly. It takes more planning and budgeting to make ends meet, and sometimes that means making sacrifices.

“I know I’m not alone in this — so many parents are feeling the pressure. It’s frustrating, but at the same time, it pushes me to be even more resourceful and find ways to make it work for my family.”
However, the shortage and rising prices do not only affect family homes but restaurants.

Charlotte’s locally owned brunch spots are affected by what is going on.

Lulu’s Express is a Maryland-style chicken and seafood spot located on Tuckaseegee Road. The restaurant is known by its crab cakes and in the process of expanding to Rock Hill.

Owner Joseph “J Davis” Davis Sr. said the egg crisis is affecting his business. He recently added a breakfast menu.

“Now eggs are a bigger part of our concept than it was before and so of course, it would’ve happened when we had to deal with the rising price, so it’s forcing me to keep more eggs on hand,” he said. “Our breakfast customer base hasn’t grown to the point where we need it an exorbitant amount of eggs on hand, so we’ve been able to manage and not just pass on like extreme prices just for eggs to a customer.”

Other restaurants such as Renaldo’s, a pizza spot owned by Renaldo Norris, say the shortage is not affecting them as they obtain most of their ingredients through food vendors.

Eggs prices have skyrocketed for years, making it almost impossible for folks to get their hands on them.

The bird flu outbreak has impacted not just the price of eggs but their availability. The flu is strains of the influenza virus that primarily infects birds and in turn the price of eggs.

As the high prices remain steady consumers are seeking answers from the Trump administration.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently announced a $1 billion plan to lower the cause of eggs in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

National restaurant chains like Waffle House announced a price surcharge for egg items. Waffle House announced a 50-cent surcharge in February. Although temporary, it demonstrates the value of eggs to restaurants. Davis, however, is holding the line on additional charges.

“As long as we’re able to break even on that and make other things I don’t see the need to raise my prices as of yet,” he said, adding he is not concerned about raising prices if he’s obligated to.

“It’s unreasonably to think that prices went up for them and not us,” he said, “especially when you notify them ‘Hey because of the cost of eggs going up and the egg shortage, we’re gonna have to raise our prices,’ he said. (Customers) understand. “I think they see what’s happening and they understand.”

Uptown Yolk on South Tryon Street, unlike Lulu’s, it is known for its breakfast menu.

“We are a breakfast contemporary and classic breakfast and brunch restaurant starting in Rock Hill in 2012, made our way here in 2019,” owner Subrina Collier said.
Eggs are important to Uptown Yolk’s dishes, and because of the availability crisis, Collier said she may have to increase prices.

“Eggs have been fluctuating since the beginning of time for us, but now they’re gone up, so we try to price ourselves so when things happen, we don’t have to keep changing it,” she said. “A dollar makes a difference in your customer, it makes a difference to you too, but you don’t wanna price people out, but you also gotta keep lights on.”

Collier said instead of going to restaurant suppliers for eggs, she prefers to shop local but has been forced to pay extra due to a run on availability.

Overall, Collier said she worries about the economy as whole and what that would mean for her business.

“I worry people are losing their jobs and have to pay their light bill outside of me,” she said. “Then it trickles to you because first thing we had to deal with growing up ‘We’re not going out to eat.  We got pork chops in there, we got eggs,’ and now I am making eggs at home, and it trickles down to you as a restaurant, too.”

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