This NC-based fast food company is now charging extra for eggs. Here’s how much
Add breakfast to the list of things getting more expensive.
Americans may have already felt sticker shock while picking up a carton of eggs from the grocery store. But restaurants — especially breakfast spots — are also feeling the pressure of the nationwide egg shortage stemming from the bird flu outbreak.
The latest chain to announce price increases for eggs is Biscuitville, the North Carolina-based fast food company known for its biscuits and Southern food.
What’s Biscuitville’s egg upcharge?
On Thursday, Feb. 20, the restaurant began charging 50 cents more for each egg served, Biscuitville told The News & Observer in an emailed statement.
“The price everyone is paying for eggs has risen dramatically due to the nationwide egg supply shortage, and the rising cost has become unsustainable for us,” the company said.
This “temporary upcharge” is in effect for all Biscuitville restaurants. There are nearly 90 locations across North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, including several in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Fuquay-Varina and the Charlotte area.
Are any other restaurants charging more for eggs?
Biscuitville is the third major brand to announce egg upcharges recently.
- Denny’s will charge an extra fee, varying by region and location, CBS News reported.
- Waffle House, like Biscuitville, is charging 50 cents more per egg, according to The Associated Press.
What’s the reason for the upcharge?
More than 166 million wild aquatic, commercial poultry and backyard or hobbyist birds in the U.S. have been infected with bird flu since 2022.
This outbreak, an illness called Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A, or H5N1, has been cited as one of the driving forces behind the uptick in egg prices. The consumer price index for eggs increased 15.2% in January 2025, the largest increase in the eggs index since June 2015, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If the H5N1 virus is found in a flock, the flock must be euthanized, or “depopulated.” That could mean thousands of birds taken out of the supply chain, all at once.
The Trump administration is aware of the problem, though.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins outlined in an op-ed published Wednesday, Feb. 26 in “The Wall Street Journal” a plan to mitigate the spread of avian flu and bring down egg prices.
“The American taxpayers, American consumers and American poultry farmers have relief coming right around the corner,” Rollins told Fox News.
According to CNN, the strategy includes:
- A $500 million investment from the USDA to enhance biosecurity measures to keep the virus off farms.
- A $400 million investment from the federal government to reimburse farmers with affected flocks.
- The USDA is exploring the use of vaccines and therapeutics.
- The U.S. will remove regulations on egg producers and “make it easier for families to raise backyard chickens.”
- The U.S. government will consider temporary imports of eggs.
This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 3:44 PM with the headline "This NC-based fast food company is now charging extra for eggs. Here’s how much."
