Shoppers, restaurants, bakeries bedeviled by soaring egg prices

EVERETT — The Totem Family Diner is famous for its ham and eggs, four-egg omelettes and Totem Hash served with two eggs “any style.”

Now, with egg prices soaring, the Everett restaurant is scrambling to meet demand.

“Egg prices are probably four or five times what they were a year ago,” said Totem’s owner Steve Jermyn.

But price is only half the battle, the other half is finding them, Jermyn said.

“The other day we ordered 10 cases (15 dozen per case) and only got five cases,” he said.

The restaurant goes through nearly 2,000 eggs in the shell a week. The tally doesn’t include pasteurized egg products that are used to make pancake and waffle batter.

Fast food chain McDonald’s uses more than two billion eggs a year in the United States, the company says.

The dozen Grade AA eggs that cost about $1.78 a year ago are now averaging about $4.25, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Rising labor costs, inflation and steep food prices, including eggs, have put the pinch on the restaurant industry, Jermyn said.

There’s a chance menu prices could go up, but right now, Jermyn said, “we’re trying to toe the line.”

Egg prices are being driven up by a nationwide outbreak of avian flu, a deadly virus that’s laying waste to commercial and backyard chickens.

In an attempt to control the virus, 58 million birds have been destroyed. The majority — 43 million — are egg-laying hens. The average commercial hen lays about 285 eggs a year and just one egg per day. In 2020, the nation’s chicken population stood at 518 million, and 389 million were egg layers.

Quiche riche?

Quiche went on the menu for the first time at Hammond Bread Company at 119 North Olympic Ave. in Arlington.

“We just started offering quiche this week, which is egg-heavy,” said owner Lauren Hammond.

Now, she wonders about her timing.

The bakery already goes through about seven dozen eggs a week, adding the savory tart will only bump up the number. Egg prices continue to spike.

“Who knows how long we can do this?” Hammond said.

“They’re not an ingredient in bread, but all the cookies, cakes and cupcakes take eggs — they make them chewy and fluffy,” Hammond said. “They bind the ingredients together. Without them the goodies would fall apart.”

It’s not just the price of eggs that have gone sky-high. Butter, cream cheese, flour, sugar and packaging also cost more, she said.

“I’ve held my prices pretty much the same. If I go any higher it would price us out of the market,” she said. “We’re holding steady, hoping for prices to drop.”

The price of l’oeuf

Whether they prefer them baked, boiled, poached or fried, egg lovers are feeling the pain.

“I eat eggs every day,” said Jill Poe, stopped in front of the egg case at the Safeway store on Rucker Avenue in Everett.

On Thursday, a dozen Grade AA large eggs were priced at $2.99 — 25 cents an egg.

“This is actually not a bad price,” Poe said. “I’ve seen them more expensive at other stores.”

Still, she couldn’t stock up.

Safeway on Rucker was limiting egg purchases to just two per customer.

The Costco in Everett was doing the same. There, a dozen Grade AA eggs sold for $3.25 a dozen in the twin-pack. However, sales of the two-pack were limited to two per customer.

At the QFC on Broadway in Everett, a carton of large Grade AA large eggs was selling for $2.99 a dozen.

(A large egg contains about 2.1 ounces of egg white and yolk per egg; a medium egg contains 1.7 ounces.)

But at QFC there were no egg buying limits.

The more expensive organic eggs and pasture raised eggs were priced at around $7 a dozen at several stores.

The price of chicken eggs at the Sno-Isle Co-op on Grand Avenue in Everett has held steady, said Raven Schaefer, the co-op’s retail manager.

“Our prices haven’t really changed,” Schaefer said. “The problem is keeping them in stock.”

“Normally, we’re well stocked on chicken eggs,” Schaefer added. “Now, the shelves can get cleared pretty quickly.”

Egg substitutes

In California, the price of a dozen eggs averaged $6.72 last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.

At those prices, consumers may want to scratch the eggs from their ham and eggs.

What’s the alternative? Here’s what Betty Crocker says about egg substitutes.

One egg is equal to about one-quarter cup of liquid. Yogurt, applesauce and mashed banana can serve as baking substitutes, according to company website.

Vegan substitutes include flax or chia seeds. Combine one tablespoon of the ground seeds with three tablespoons of water. Mashed potatoes are a substitute that can help bind ingredients. Use two tablespoons instant mashed potatoes to replace one egg.

As a leavening agent, try diet soda. It can replace eggs in many cake recipes.

Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @JanicePods.