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Denny’s has added a temporary surcharge to meals that include eggs at some of its restaurants following the impact of the bird flu and corresponding egg shortage, the company said in a statement emailed to Restaurant Dive. The pricing is being determined on a market-by-market and restaurant-by-restaurant basis because of the regional aspect of the egg shortage.
“Denny’s remains committed to providing our guests with delicious meals they love at the value they expect,” the company said. “We do our best to plan ahead with our vendors on items like eggs to minimize the impact market volatility has on our costs and menu pricing.”
The company said it will continue to focus on its guests’ desires for value, and emphasized its “$2 $4 $6 $8 value meal” while it is “navigating these rapidly changing market dynamics responsibly.”
Denny’s won’t provide individual market and restaurant lists highlighting the surcharges since it is “a fluid situation.” The surcharge does not apply to sister company Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, the company said.
Denny’s is the second nationwide restaurant to implement an egg surcharge, following Waffle House’s $0.50 per egg surcharge added earlier this month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture previously said egg prices could rise as much as 20% this year.
But the impact of the egg shortage could have wider implications than just egg dishes.
While Shake Shack doesn’t have a direct exposure to eggs, restaurants that do could move away from eggs to beef or chicken products, which could impact those ingredients, CEO Rob Lynch said last week during an earnings call. That could lead to additional demand and an impact on pricing, he said. Shake Shack has worked on its supply chain to create multiple sources of supply, new vendors and new partners to ensure sourcing and adequate pricing.
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