Egg prices impacting local restaurants 

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The bird flu is wreaking havoc on chickens and the price of eggs. Local restaurant owners tell me the bird flu has made the price of eggs skyrocket and that’s impacted their bottom line.

The owner of Alexis Diner, in Troy, said he’s trying to make light of the situation. He made shirts that said, “Make Eggs Cheap Again.”

When I asked him why he made those shirts, owner Alexi Lekkas said, “because it is hilarious.”

He said they go through 450 dozen eggs a week. That amounts to 5,400 eggs. 

“So now it’s costing us $100 a case more. So that’s $1,500 a week more for eggs. If you project it on an annual basis $75,000 extra, just to purchase eggs in a year,” said Lekkas.

He said a case of 30 dozen eggs used to cost $80 dollars and it’s now more than $200.

“It’s ruining my bottom line. There is no bottom line. The bottom fell out of my bottom line right now,” said Lekkas.

And it’s not just Alexis Diner. The Son of Egg is also paying those prices. The owner wants to source their eggs locally. But that’s not an option for the diner because they use a lot more eggs.

“I’m not feeling great,” said Lekkas. He added, prices have steadily increased the last six weeks. 

“Chances are this is not going away anytime soon so we might have to slightly increase our prices not to make up for it but at least try to avoid the damage, part of the damage, that it’s doing to our bottom line right now,” said Lekkas.

He said the situation is not funny, but continues to crack jokes. His wife wanted something expensive for her birthday, so he says he bought her eggs.

“You know, hopefully sell some of the shirts and try to make up for the money we’re losing on eggs right now,” said Lekkas.

Sales people are telling him to anticipate another price increase. They said a case of 30 dozen eggs could be worth nearly $300 next month.