COLUMBUS, Ohio — Egg prices have more than doubled since August 2023.

What You Need To Know

• The bird flu outbreak is driving up egg prices, affecting grocery stores and restaurants alike


• The Dk Diner now has a $.50 surcharge for menu items containing eggs


• Experts says profits are taking a hit, which may soon cause restaurants to get creative

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the price of a dozen eggs rose from $2.04 In August of 2023 to $4.95 last month.

That’s still higher than in January of 2023, when a dozen eggs cost you $4.82. It’s also why grocery shopping and even dining out may be getting more expensive.

The rise in egg prices is affecting restaurants like the DK Diner in Columbus.

"We normally pay $2 a dozen, and we're going through the neighborhood of 300 dozen eggs a week,” General Manger Anthony Teny said. “So, when the price of eggs goes up, you know, more than double, you know, triple in this case, that's an extra five, $6,000 a month that we're having to having to pay."

The restaurant now has signs on their tables, explaining the $.50 surcharge on their menu items containing eggs.

"It's not something that we're trying to profit off of something that is going on,” Teny said. “It's just something that, you know, kind of the basics of a business."

The president and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance, John Barker, said profits across the board are taking a hit.

"Anybody in the restaurant industry, you know, that they operate sometimes between about 3 to 5% profit margins,” Barker said. “So, you take an item like eggs at a breakfast restaurant, then probably two thirds that three quarters of the items that people order in the morning. And so, it just puts a lot of pressure on restauranteurs."

Barker said it may even force restaurants to get creative.

"Eggs are in so many different things,” Barker said. “You're going to find chefs and cooks trying to find other things that they could use instead. You don't want to change the profile of the menu item. You don't want to change the taste. But if you could achieve something similar with a different item that doesn't cost as much or has such availability pressure, you might move to that."

Meanwhile, back at the diner, Teny remains hopeful they'll get through this. 

"Bear with the situation,” Teny said. “It's, hopefully it's something that in the next year will be resolved hopefully sooner."