Area businesses react to increasing egg prices

CAPE FEAR, NC (WWAY) — Egg prices continue to soar nationwide and right here in Cape Fear. The rising prices are hitting many area businesses hard.

The rise in prices is due to a strain of H5N1, also known as avian flu, that killed more than 13 million egg-laying hens last month alone.

For a small restaurant like Gaylyn’s Diner in Leland, it costs more than $100 to buy 15 dozen eggs, which will only last a day or two.

Owner Gaylyn Steelman said she is often left scrambling to find the cheapest place to buy eggs.

“I shop Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion and Walmart,” Steelman said. “I had a food source also, but it was just too high for me to get from them so, so I’m just shopping around different areas.”

Steelman said a dozen eggs cost more than $7 and that she could end up closing if the price doesn’t come down.

“Cause its impacting the customers and it’s impacts me, so yes. That’s what worries me cause I’ve been business for 20, 21 years now and its gonna hurt if I do, if I have to.”

Steelman added that at this point, she has not passed the higher prices onto her customers, but that could change.

Larger businesses, like Apple Annie’s Bake Shop, are also keeping an eye on egg prices.

General manager Frank Lewis said they want to ensure their customer’s wallets don’t feel the pain.

“It’s due to go up a little bit more I believe and then come down but it’s something that we can not pass on to the consumer, we’d be changing our prices daily,” Lewis said. “We have to absorb the prices somehow. Some of our products that use a higher level of egg, we might consider looking at that. But there’s always a ceiling for what consumers will pay for fresh baked goods, so that’s a problem we’re running into.”

While egg prices are high, they still lag behind the record-high prices from January 2023.