The egg crisis is hitting New York City's go-to breakfast sandwich

• Soaring egg costs have hit New York City's beloved breakfast sandwich: the bacon, egg, and cheese.
• BI spoke to workers at 10 delis; all said they had raised or will raise prices on the BEC.
• Some customers are even taking measures like ordering a sausage and cheese — with no egg.

Move over, rats. New York City's small businesses have a new animal foe: birds.

As the cost of eggs continues to skyrocket amid an avian influenza outbreak, Business Insider spoke to employees at 10 bodegas and delis in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn about how the crisis is impacting their business — and particularly their bacon, egg, and cheese sales.

New York City's quintessential breakfast sandwich — enjoyed on the morning rush to work or a 3 a.m. stumble home — typically costs between $4.50 and $6.50 depending on the neighborhood, as Gothamist previously reported. Yet many deli and bodega owners told BI that they've already raised or are considering raising the price of the staple by between 50 cents and $1. Their prices ranged from $5 in Downtown Brooklyn to $8 in the Financial District of Manhattan.

Many of the employees BI spoke to said they buy eggs in 30-dozen-cases, which they said now cost more than $200 compared to around $60 before the Covid pandemic.

"The price today is more than yesterday, the price yesterday is more than last week," Jimmy, the manager at All American Deli in Manhattan, said. He, along with many of the other employees BI spoke to, asked to be identified by only his first name. Mohammad, a cashier at Slope Natural Plus in Brooklyn for the past 17 years, said everyone in the neighborhood is struggling because of the rising wholesale egg cost.

"Everybody is screaming, everybody is yelling, 'Why is it so much?'" he told BI.

The latest US inflation data was hotter than expected and the spike in food prices was largely driven by eggs. In January, egg prices shot up 15.2% compared to the month before and 53% year over year. Rhett Buttle, the co-executive director of the Small Business Roundtable, said that small businesses are particularly vulnerable to price volatility because they operate on tight margins.

"The egg price situation is a unique pressure point," he told BI in an email. "During broader inflation, costs generally rose more gradually across the board, allowing some ability to adjust. This sudden spike in an essential ingredient creates immediate strain on working capital and makes it difficult for small businesses to maintain stable pricing."

Jimmy said that his profit-per-sandwich is lower and that he's also struggling with the price of bacon, which saw a 4% year-over-year increase, according to the latest CPI report. Both Angel and Bernardo Martinez, the respective morning manager at Pace Gourmet Deli and an employee at Apple Gourmet Deli in the Financial District, said their profit margins are lower as well.

Most of the employees BI talked to said that customers are still ordering egg sandwiches — as Mohammad put it, "they have to eat" — and are generally understanding of the price hikes, which have also hit grocery stores. Occasionally, though, people will grumble.

"Here and there people will complain about it, but I'm not sure they're caught up on everything," Angel said. "They're not the one seeing the bill that we have."

Yet Homer, the manager at Seaport Deli in the Financial District, has noticed some people changing their orders given the new egg prices. One person ordered a sausage and cheese, no egg. Another said that the eggs on his breakfast sandwich were too small, but Homer said he couldn't afford to use the extra-large ones anymore.

With no near end in sight to the bird flu outbreak and soaring egg costs, Homer said he and his customers are ultimately united in their frustration.

"It's not my fault, it's not their fault," he said over the sound of people placing orders and a sizzling grill. "It's the birds' fault!"