High egg prices raise costs at city’s eateries
Eggs aren’t just in the omelets that get whipped up at brunch time at Kenny & Ziggy’s Delicatessen. They’re also in the noodles in the beef stew, in the matzo ball soup and in every cake and cookie sold.
So when the price of eggs skyrocketed over the summer, the Houston restaurant and bakery was hoping for a quick return to normalcy, owner Ziggy Gruber said. But that hasn’t happened.
“In the past, things have gone up, and there have been shortages. But there has never been an egg shortage, or prices of eggs that were nuts like this,” Gruber said. “This has been absolutely stunning and very hurtful to our industry.”
Six months ago, Gruber was paying about $30 for 15 dozen eggs, he said. Now the same amount costs $107. It’s the first time an ingredient so fundamental to so many dishes has gotten this expensive this quickly, operators of Houston restaurants and bakeries say. And it’s increased costs for both them and their customers.
Raising menu prices has become inevitable, Gruber said. He had to raise some by about 30 percent to compensate for how much more he was paying for eggs.
But unlike other costs, such as packaging, customers are aware of how expensive eggs have become — they see it every time they go to the grocery store. So Gruber said he hasn’t had any complaints or pushback over the higher prices.
“Eggs are everyone’s problem,” said Emily Williams Knight, CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, “so I think there’s a bit of sympathy for these restaurants.”
Economist David Anderson, a
professor at Texas A&M University, said that because eggs go into so many things, “we would say the demand is very inelastic.” That means businesses and consumers alike bite the bullet and pay the higher price.
But locally owned restaurants, Knight added, are at a disadvantage compared with national chains or large restaurant groups, which have been able to use their purchasing power to navigate this latest hurdle.
Three Brothers Bakery uses about 1,800 pounds of fresh and frozen eggs every month to make everything from cakes and pies to challah at their four Houston locations, according to co-owner Janice Jucker. From 2021 to 2022, their food costs rose by about 50 percent, driven in large part by eggs, Jucker said.
At first, the price spike was linked to an outbreak of avian flu wiping out egg-laying hens, contributing to a 4 percent decline in egg production since 2021. Prices continue to remain elevated year over year as demand for eggs remains high among consumers and businesses, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The bakery has made some minor price changes to its menu, but if eggs continue to be this expensive, she said, they may need to consider more.
Jucker said she’s seen plenty of things get more expensive this year — plastic packaging, shipping, labor. While she’s happy to pay more to make sure her employees are being paid a good wage, paying so much more for a staple has been frustrating, Jucker said.
It’s been especially dramatic because of how cheap eggs used to be, Tacos A Go Go founder Sharon Haynes said.
At every restaurant, she says, there are “stars” and “dogs” — items that make a lot of money and items that don’t. Traditionally, breakfast tacos weren’t just a bestseller at the chain’s five Houston locations, they were also a “star.” Now their breakfast tacos — which take three eggs each — are still a top seller, but have become a “dog” for the business.
Haynes and the company have hesitated to raise prices or put an egg surcharge on the menu because they hope egg prices will decline. And there is evidence that’s beginning to happen.
The average price retailers pay for eggs has begun to dip, from a peak of over $4 per dozen in December, according to data collected by the USDA. But they’re still about 50 percent higher year over year at just under $2.90 per dozen for retailers.
USDA economist Matt MacLachlan predicts that egg prices will continue to remain high in 2023.
Demetrius Walker, owner of Meek’s Vegan Pizza in Blodgett Food Hall near Texas Southern University, said the prices of other items have also soared in recent months, including those of olive oil, flour and tomatoes.
“Prices on tomatoes went crazy,” he said: A box of six cans of crushed tomatoes has gone from $30 to $52.
But, as a vegan restaurant, at least he’s not paying for hen eggs. Walker says JUST egg — a plantbased product — is probably less expensive than the original version.
“I had a brunch pizza on my menu that used JUST egg. I might go ahead and bring it back,” he said. “So many people are clamoring for the taste of eggs.”