CINCINNATI — Egg prices continue to rise as the USDA projects a 20% increase this year due to ongoing bird flu cases affecting farms nationwide.
We checked the prices for a dozen large grade-A eggs at Cincinnati grocery stores on Thursday.
Kroger: $4.19
Walmart Great Value: $4.17
Meijer: $4.49
It's not just the everyday shopper feeling the impact on their wallet, so are local restaurants. Especially for diners like Sugar N Spice, where eggs are 90% of their menu.
Amber Woods has been working at Sugar N Spice for about two years.
"It’s literally like the best,” she said. “I love the customers they, make everything just so great."
She said she greets her tables with a sunny-side-up attitude. Customers would never know the heat they're feeling in the back of the house.
"Eggs are a continuous struggle," said director of operations, Michael Sturm.
Sturm said they go through eight to 10 cases a week, with 350-plus eggs a case.
With the recent price increases, Sturm said it’s now costing them about 50 cents per egg. He said that the price has risen starkly over the last few weeks.
Sturm said they've shifted their efforts towards finding solutions.
"New, creative ideas where eggs aren't the focus," he said.
WATCH: Learn more about their efforts below
So they're taking a crack at lunch. They just launched a new menu.
"Not to steer away from eggs but steer people towards alternative options," Sturm said.
He said they've also made a conscious effort not to raise prices. Customer Colton Miller said he took notice of that.
"That's what we were talking about! The pancakes were like the same price they used to be — we really appreciate that,” he said.
Sturm said not only has business been steady, but they’ve actually had more customers than usual.
"They're coming out more. Maybe they're not buying eggs at home, but hopefully, they'll still come out and enjoy us instead of buying eggs at home," Sturm said.
Egg prices don’t appear to be going down any time soon. That's why experts say you should only purchase the number of eggs you need for your family. Do not over-buy, that's only going to impact the demand and hike the prices up even more.
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