A national egg shortage has many cracking under rising costs.
“We keep our fingers crossed, and we hope that the prices of the eggs do come down,” said Scott Auslander, the general manager of Bread Furst on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest D.C.
For Bread Furst, eggs are their bread and butter. Eggs go into everything, and the bakery is taking a beating.
“Last year we were paying about $3.25–$3.35 for eggs. Today we paid $7.50 for a dozen eggs,” Auslander said.
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Auslander said they’re used to fluctuating prices and finding alternatives through local farmers, but the avian flu outbreak has everybody mixed up.
“Now even the local farmer is having problems with the bird flu,” he said.
They go through about a thousand eggs at the location every day, adding thousands of dollars to their operating costs every week — a tall order for a small business.
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“A loaf of brioche might have four or five eggs in each individual loaf so if you add that loaf of bread, your increase in cost on that one loaf of bread could be upwards of $2…” Auslander said. “Right now we’re eating most of the cost.”
Unfortunately, that means loyal regulars have to pay about a dollar more for their signature Messy Egg Breakfast Sandwich and other egg heavy items.
This bakery isn't the only one.
This week, Denny's announced it will add a temporary surcharge on meals with eggs, and earlier this month, Waffle House added a 50 cent surcharge to eggs.
“It’s basically you know a trickle down effect, like you kind of expect it,” said customer Philip Zec.
At Bread Furst, loyal fans like Zec said the increase won’t keep him from coming back.
“It’s an institution,” he said. “Everybody loves coming here.”
Auslander said right now, they are doing their best to eat most of those added costs, and once the price of eggs comes down, they will adjust their prices.
