The two-egg breakfast at Waffle House is no longer only $8.50.
Waffle House Just Put a Surcharge on Every Egg It Sells
Published on Feb. 05, 2025
Waffle House is beloved by millions, thanks to its affordable meals and the fact that it’s open 24 hours a day. It’s so reliable, in fact, that the Waffle House Index was created to measure the number of restaurant closures during a hurricane—because when even the Waffle House is closed, things are really bad.
Right now, though, things are bad at Waffle House. Not even one of the oldest chain restaurants in America can withstand shifting market forces. For the foreseeable future, the restaurant will add a surcharge to every egg it sells.
Why is Waffle House charging more for eggs?
The Associated Press reports that starting this week, Waffle House has enacted a temporary surcharge on all egg orders—an additional 50 cents per egg.
Users on Bluesky and other social media outlets shared images of the new sticker placed on the Waffle House menu alerting customers to the price hike: “Due to the nationwide rise in cost of eggs, we’ve added a temporary 50¢ per egg surcharge,” reads the menu notice.
That nationwide rise in egg costs is one that American shoppers feel at the grocery store, too. The AP notes that the average cost of a dozen eggs hit $4.15 in December and is expected to rise by a whopping 20% in 2025. The prices reflect a general egg shortage, one that has caused some grocery chains to limit shoppers to only two or three dozen eggs per trip.
This shortage and resulting price hike are the result of an ongoing bird flu outbreak. While birds of all kinds are affected, the close quarters on chicken farms cause diseases to spread rapidly, forcing farmers to cull their egg-laying flocks.
When will Waffle House stop charging extra for eggs?
“While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” the company told the Associated Press. The surcharge could be adjusted, or removed entirely, if market conditions change, but there’s no indication that things will take a favorable turn in the near future.
Said one Reddit user about the surcharge, “Since they started this trend, I’m sure all restaurant chains will follow this.” That could mean markups on Egg McMuffins and other fast-food breakfast sandwiches.
