VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — If you've been to the grocery store recently, you can tell the price of eggs is up, but that increase is also hitting restaurants in Virginia Beach hard.
"Not only are the prices extremely high, it's also very difficult to get the eggs," Allie Stephens, who owns Anchor Allie's off Independence Boulevard, said.
Stephens operates not just in her location in Virginia Beach, but also in Fayetteville, North Carolina. For both locations, eggs have been a concern for the last four months.
Watch related coverage: Old Dominion University prof. says grocery prices could go down with cooling inflation
"I'm always thinking about eggs, mapping out my day, where can I find them, what's the best price, every single day for the past four months," Stephens said.
The issue her restaurant is facing, along with others across Hampton Roads, has nothing to do with restaurants and is instead connected to an outbreak of avian influenza.
The impact is hitting grocery stores too, where you've likely seen signs explaining the egg shortage.
Watch related coverage: Have you noticed eggs are really expensive in Va.? Here's why
With a shortage, that means the price of eggs goes up.
Stephens said she's had to make some changes to her menu to adapt.
"We've temporarily taken omelets off to try and persuade our customers to maybe buy a burger or a chicken sandwich or maybe a waffle," Stephens said.
Old Dominion University economics professor Bob McNab says the price is expected to go down eventually, but it will take some time.
Watch related coverage: Here's how you can save big the next time you're at the supermarket
"What this means for 2025 is that we will probably not see egg prices go down until the second half of the year because we need new chicks to become egg-laying hens to increase the egg supply," McNab said.
He said egg prices are up by about 50 percent nationally.
In the meantime, Stephens said she will be getting creative with her menu to continue to make sure customers stay happy.
"We have really good espresso martinis," Stephens said. "You know, making the adjustments the best that we can to make sure we're pleasing our customers but also still being able to maintain the business."
