WALKER, Mich. — A recent report from the Department of Labor revealed the price of eggs in the U.S. continued to climb in February, with the average cost of a dozen grade A eggs hitting a record-setting $5.90, a 10.4% jump since January and a 60% increase from a year ago.
"We're all winging it," said Lu Hayoz, owner of Peppermill Cafe, a breakfast-and-brunch spot in Walker. "I think everybody's in the same position. If you're a breakfast restaurant, it's difficult."
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The "double whammy" of the bird flu and Michigan's new cage-free egg law forced Hayoz to raise the prices of some of her restaurant's menu items last month.
Peppermill Cafe is known for its six-egg omelettes, Hayoz says. Now, they all cost a dollar extra.
"We had to do what we had to do," Hayoz said. "We haven't had any people that have been angry about it. They know. They've been to the grocery store."
In a week, the restaurant typically spends around $2,000 on 30 cases of eggs (5,400 eggs in total). While Peppermill's menu changes don't make up for the nationwide increase in the price of eggs, the additional dollar charge does make for better margins.
"We held out until we could not hold out any longer," Hayoz said. "We were just losing money. We couldn't do it any longer. We just couldn't."
Peppermill isn't in danger of closing down, Hayoz says; it's simply waiting out the surge, hoping the price of eggs begin to fall again.
"We’ll just see what happens," Hayoz said. "You got to just ride the wave."
