### Title: Rising Egg Prices Challenge Small Eateries: A Culinary Crisis

### Summary: The sharp increase in egg prices, driven by bird flu impacting supply, has put immense pressure on small eateries. Owners are employing various strategies to cope, including recipe changes and diversifying their menus.

In the midst of a culinary crisis, small eateries across the U.S. face relentless challenges due to skyrocketing egg prices. The rise can be attributed to a bird flu outbreak that dramatically reduced the nation's egg-laying hen population by approximately 15%, elevating wholesale egg prices to a staggering peak of over $8.50 per dozen. This surge not only impacts average consumers but poses an existential threat to small restaurants, where eggs comprise a significant portion of their menus.

For many mom-and-pop establishments, paying double or even triple the standard price for an ingredient they use by the hundreds daily could spell disaster. Owners have begun to get increasingly inventive in their approaches. Some have started altering their recipes by integrating less expensive substitutes such as liquid or powdered eggs, which have not experienced the same rate of price hikes. Others are pivoting their offerings entirely, selling alternative menu items such as falafel, packaged snacks, or even fresh flowers to mitigate losses.

Recent weeks have seen a slight drop in egg prices, yet the overall trend remains historically high and unsettling. Experts, including analysts from CoBank, indicate that egg prices are anticipated to rise nearly 58 percent this year, with ongoing trends favoring demand for all-day breakfast and protein-heavy diets exacerbating the situation.

Moreover, the perishable nature of eggs complicates stockpiling; small businesses typically lack the financial capacity to invest in extensive refrigeration solutions. Rob Handfield, a supply chain professor at North Carolina State University, underscores that these establishments depend heavily on daily or weekly deliveries of eggs, illustrating the precarious position they occupy.

As this crisis unfolds, it's clear that small restaurants are in a race against time to adapt to a landscape reshaped by soaring prices, and their creative responses may ultimately determine their survival.