A POPULAR restaurant chain has confirmed that it will not be charging an added fee for a common breakfast item anymore.
The surcharge was implemented earlier this year amid nationwide shortages and price spikes for the beloved food option.
A 50-cent surcharge at a beloved breakfast chain is no more (stock image)[/caption]
Waffle House has removed the fee after its implementation in February (stock image)[/caption]
Starting in February, customers at Waffle House’s over 2,000 locations were hit with a 50-cent uptick on eggs.
On July 1, however, Waffle House noted that the fee was no more in a post on X.
Responses from longtime fans of the chain were mixed, with some still furious it was implemented in the first place.
“Too little too late,” a diner fumed.
“Little late! Eggs dropped many months ago and y’all continued to fleece customers,” another commented.
Others were just thankful that eggs were 50 cents less moving forward.
“That’s fantastic! Good to see some relief on prices,” someone exclaimed.
“Three cheers for @WaffleHouse!” a customer added.
While the 50-cent fee may seem insignificant to some, eggs are the chain’s most ordered food, and it serves over 272 million of them a year, according to its website.
The added fee was implemented because Waffle House was paying more for its egg supply amid the H5N1 bird flu outbreak, which has seen 150 million chickens, turkeys, and egg-laying hens wiped out since 2022, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
After hen populations drastically reduced over the 2024 holiday season due to the spread, the early months of this year saw price spikes at retailers and restaurants.
Some states, like Hawaii, started to see average costs for a dozen over $10 in January and Florida’s was as high as $6.36.
Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and several others were forced to implement limits on egg purchases for customers looking to stock up on more affordable options.
Vacant shelves were seen up until early spring, but USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins noted in March that prices were headed downward.
January Egg Prices by State
The average egg price for one dozen eggs by state was as follows earlier in 2025:
- Hawaii: $9.73
- Florida: $6.36
- Alabama: $6.12
- Nevada: $6.07
- California: $6.05
- Arizona: $6.03
- Georgia: $5.96
- Maine: $5.84
- Wyoming: $5.84
- Colorado: $5.77
- South Carolina: $5.76
- Vermont: $5.70
- Utah: $5.67
- New Mexico: $5.65
- Tennessee: $5.61
- North Carolina: $5.60
- Louisiana: $5.59
- Connecticut: $5.54
- Montana: $5.46
- Texas: $5.43
- New York: $5.37
- Minnesota: $5.10
- Rhode Island: $5.10
- Idaho: $5.09
- New Jersey: $5.05
- Massachusetts: $5.04
- Mississippi: $5.04
- South Dakota: $5.00
- Virginia: $4.96
- Arkansas: $4.95
- Oklahoma: $4.92
- New Hampshire: $4.91
- Washington: $4.91
- North Dakota: $4.83
- Illinois: $4.82
- Michigan: $4.82
- Oregon: $4.81
- Delaware: $4.79
- Maryland: $4.78
- Wisconsin: $4.78
- West Virginia: $4.64
- Alaska: $4.61
- Pennsylvania: $4.52
- Kentucky: $4.51
- Iowa: $4.44
- Kansas: $4.41
- Ohio: $4.39
- Indiana: $4.33
- Nebraska: $4.25
- Missouri: $4.24
Source: World Population Review
COSTS DOWN
This proved true in April, with a 12.7% decrease, with a report from the USDA later noting that the average cost for a dozen larger white-shell eggs costing less than $3.
Rollins explained in a statement at the end of June that the drop was the result of significant efforts by the department through a “five-pronged strategy to improve biosecurity on the farm and lower egg prices on grocery store shelves.”
“The plan has worked, and families are seeing relief,” she added.
While data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) still shows that egg prices are more expensive than the same time in 2024, the cost decline is enough for Waffle House to remove its fee.
WATCH OUT
Consumers were still warned about eggs last month in relation to a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections.
August Egg Company recalled 1.7 million brown cage-free and organic eggs in several states, including Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Washington.
Affected cartons were sold between February 29 and May 17.
The FDA advised customers who purchased the cartons from at least 29 different brands to refrain from making sunny side up or over easy eggs, as it would not cook off the bacteria.
Aside from eggs, other fees are also affecting Americans this year.
Some are losing at least $3,500 annually thanks to certain hidden costs, with seven being fairly common.
A restaurant was also called out recently for a “living wage fee” spotted on a receipt.
