Denny’s and Waffle House have removed the temporary egg surcharges they imposed earlier this year as egg prices in the U.S. continue to decline.
Denny’s confirmed Thursday that it ended its egg surcharge on May 21, while Waffle House announced on social media Wednesday that it lifted its surcharge on June 2.
Waffle House had added a 50-cent charge per egg in February across its 1,900 U.S. locations, citing skyrocketing egg prices. Denny’s also implemented a surcharge that same month, though the amount varied by location.
The spike in prices was largely driven by widespread outbreaks of bird flu in January and February, which caused the average price of a dozen Grade A eggs to soar to a record $6.23 in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
More than 174.8 million wild and domesticated birds have been culled since the virus began spreading in January 2022. Because of the virus’s high transmissibility, entire flocks are euthanized when infections are detected, putting pressure on egg supplies—particularly from large-scale farms with millions of hens.
However, prices began easing in April as bird flu cases declined and Easter-related demand waned. By May, the average retail price dropped to $4.55 per dozen, the lowest since December, when prices averaged $4.15.
The U.S. also ramped up imports to stabilize supply. “The U.S. has imported more than 26 million dozen shell eggs since January from Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, Turkey and South Korea,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. She also noted that three new facilities have been approved to handle imported eggs.
Additionally, nearly 1,000 biosecurity assessments have been conducted on U.S. farms, and the government has provided funding to support farm-level biosecurity upgrades, Rollins said.
Still, Rollins warned that the coming fall migration season could pose new risks: “The fall could be potentially challenging for egg producers,” she said, since wild birds commonly spread the avian flu virus as they migrate.
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