Feeding a family in today’s economy is tough – especially when the price of eggs makes a trip to the grocery store to buy them something to dread.

But imagine the sticker shock that area diners and restaurants serving breakfast to hundreds of families a week are dealing with.

“The eggs ate our profits completely,” said John Zacharia, the owner of Alexis Diner and Restaurant on 9W in Newburgh. Since the pandemic, he said, prices in general have had their ups and downs, and anything from 10% to 100% increase fluctuations have been the norm. “But this egg crisis is something that I never, ever imagined.”

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, bird flu – or H5N1 Avian Influenza – is a viral infection that spreads in birds and some mammals. Infections have surged since last November in Iowa and Ohio – the two biggest egg-producing states in the country. To keep the spread to a minimum, the U.S. Department of Agriculture kills all birds in a flock if even one tests positive for it. Almost 20 million egg-laying chickens were killed in January of this year alone, more than any month since the outbreak began in early 2022, leading to the current nation-wide shortage.

“Honestly, if we were charging what we should be charging, we wouldn’t have any customers,” said John Van Houten, owner of Fiddlestix Café on Main Street in Cornwall, adding that his wholesale prices this week for a case of eggs – which is 30 dozen – were right around $245, up from $80 a case not that long ago.

“It just goes up $10 to $15 a case a week,” he added.

To offset the soaring prices and to keep customers coming in to enjoy their favorite meals, he said that the café tries to balance the price of eggs with different specials not featuring eggs. “We don’t believe you should be paying more than $6 for a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich,” he said.

Mirsini Armstrong, the daughter of the owner of Anna’s Restaurant on West Street in Newburgh, said their wholesale egg prices have almost quadrupled because distributors have gone from charging $60 to $70 a case last year to $240 – and the restaurant goes through about two-and-a-half cases each week.

“It’s a substantial increase,” she said. “We’re kind of struggling with what to do. The profit use to be in eggs, but right now, [it’s] not.”

She said they have even tried commercial retailers like BJ’s and Aldi, but because of the shortage, there is a strict limit to how many dozen can be purchased at a time. As a result, Armstrong said the restaurant raised the prices of all their dishes $.50 just last week.

As the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the average retail price for eggs in January reached a record $4.95 per dozen – up 96% from a year before and 239% from five years ago – most folks who dine out are familiar with the high costs because they are buying eggs, too.

“But it’s a big issue for us,” Armstrong said. “For a small business that relies on its breakfast, it’s tough.”

Because the owners said that they know most of their customers by name, they struggle with having to increase their menu prices.

“I can [decide] not sell eggs or bacon – the choice is mine. But what about the average American family?“ said Zacharia of his diner, which goes through more than 20 cases of eggs per week but hasn’t had a menu price increase in over a year. “I don’t want to lose them because they are the ones who matter and who kept us in business.”

“I know of customers who don’t have the means,” Armstrong said, “and I know any increase is hard for them.

“We charge $9 for [a plate of] eggs, home fries and toast. I’ve seen other places charge $17 for the same, but I just don’t feel right doing that to people,” Van Houten said.

But what can they do to stay afloat if the egg shortage lasts up to the year that has been predicted?

“Breakfast and lunch are a substantial part of our revenue. Eventually, we’d have to switch to market price,” Van Houten said. “We’d try to be fair about it, but we still have to pay our bills.”

He added that is also looking into getting a beer and liquor license as the busy season approaches and the weather warms up.

“Basically, it’s taking it from one spot and putting it to another,” he said.

Zacharia said they may need look further into getting eggs from outside of the U.S. as countries like Turkey, Cyprus and Greece are starting to ship them abroad.

“To ship here, it will cost $.25 per egg, [so] a dozen is $3 [to ship]. But that’s ok,” he said. “Even if it goes to $5 per dozen, it’s still much, much cheaper than $8 or $9 per dozen. If it goes on longer or prices keep getting higher, we have to go wherever it would be cheaper.”

In the meantime, the delicate balance between keeping prices affordable and covering business overhead will continue.

“Every day is a fight – and we’re trying to win the fight, but it feels like a war,” Zacharia said.