Waffle House Introduces Egg Surcharge Amid Nationwide Shortage

We all love Waffle House. If you’ve ever been to one—and who hasn’t at this point—then you are in that group most likely.

Things, however, are about to get a bit more expensive at the popular 24/7 chain. With the rising costs of eggs across the country, Waffle House found a way to combat the increase, and it’ll be felt directly on our checks. The company announced that it will be adding a 50-cent charge per egg. So that three-egg omelet you love to get from Waffle House will be an additional $1.50 by that metric.

Waffle House Just Introduced an Egg Surcharge

The business, which operates close to 2,100 locations, has already begun posting signage around its stores notifying customers of the sticker shock they’ll be seeing on their bills. If you’re wondering why eggs are being hit so hard with inflation, there’s a serious avian flu strain going on, and it’s making these eggs that much more valuable (and expensive) to obtain. There was even a recent heist of eggs where thieves nabbed 100,000 eggs. So yeah, eggs are gold right now.

In a statement to CNN, Waffle House called it a “dramatic increase” but it’s one that they’re essentially forced to do as part of some “difficult decisions” that had to be made to account for the shortage.

The slight good news, though, is that all of the signage refers to it as a “temporary surcharge,” which also was reflected in its statement to the outlet as Waffle House will continue to monitor prices and “adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow.”

In that CNN article, it reported that eggs are the most popular item at the chain with more than 272 million eggs used per year. Some basic math tells us that that would equate to $1.36 million in egg surcharges this year if the shortage lasts through the end of 2025.