Denny’s becomes latest chain restaurant to add a surcharge on breakfast as egg shortage lingers

Denny’s said that the surcharges would only temporarily affect some of its locations

Food chain Denny’s became the latest restaurant to crack under the pressure of the egg shortage, announcing Monday some locations are adding a surcharge to some of its most popular dishes.

The news comes as the country deals with rising egg prices thanks to the impact of pervasive and widespread H5N1 bird flu.

“Due to the nationwide egg shortage and increased cost of eggs, some of our restaurant locations will need to temporarily add a surcharge to every meal that incudes eggs,” the company said in a statement emailed to The Independent on Monday.

“This pricing decision is market-by-market, and restaurant-by-restaurant due to the regional impacts of the egg shortage,” the South Carolina-based business wrote.

It’s unclear exactly how much the costs are going up in the impacted market. Company officials declined to provide specifics on the markets impacted.

Restaurant chain Denny’s said Monday that it would add a temporary surcharge to egg dishes at some locations due to country’s egg shortage. The pricing would be market-by-market (Getty Images)

Denny’s said it would continue to look for ways to provide options for customers on its menu.

The move comes following a similar announcement made by Waffle House earlier in the month. The southern chain said a 50-cent surcharge per egg would be effective at the beginning of the month.

“While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived, we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” Waffle House wrote in a statement. “We are continuously monitoring egg prices and will adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow.”

Notably, Denny’s is more widespread than Waffle House, with more than 1,300 locations across the U.S. However, last year the chain announced that it would close some restaurants.

Bird flu that led to the culling of millions of egg-laying chickens has resulted in sky high prices and empty grocery aisles. President Donald Trump has said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins would be working on the issue.

The national egg shortage is tied to a nationwide outbreak of H5N1 bird flu. In response to the virus, millions of egg-laying chickens have been killed (AFP via Getty Images)

“She knows everything about it and she’s going to be a fantastic secretary,” the president noted. “I’m hearing so much about eggs; you’ll figure it out and you’ve got to figure something out fast, but we inherited all of the problems.”

The administration has largely blamed their predecessors for consumer woes.