Denny’s and Waffle House have both removed the surcharges the chains put in place earlier this year to offset the soaring cost of eggs amid a nationwide shortage.
Denny’s confirmed on Thursday that it “shell-ved” its egg surcharge in late May, while Waffle House announced on Wednesday that it removed its surcharge in early June.
“Egg-cellent news…as of June 2, the egg surcharge is officially off the menu,” Waffle House wrote on social media, thanking diners for their understanding in the recent months.
In early February, Waffle House implemented a 50-cent egg surcharge at all of its 1,900 locations, saying at the time that they hoped the increase would be short-lived though they couldn’t “predict how long this shortage will last.”
Denny’s followed suit weeks later with a surcharge that varied by location, telling customers they’d do their best to plan ahead with vendors to “minimize the impact market volatility has on our costs and menu pricing.”
Both restaurants upped the prices on menu items with eggs amid a dramatic spike in cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza. In the first few months of the year, more than 30 million egg-laying hens were killed to prevent the spread of the bird flu, leading to the skyrocketing costs of eggs.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a dozen Grade A eggs jumped to a record high of $6.23 per dozen in March at grocery stores across the country.
By April, prices began to go down as the number of cases of bird flu decreased. Egg imports from outside the country also helped lower prices to $4.55 per dozen in May.
As of July 3 nationwide, the average cost of a dozen eggs had dropped to $2.56.
