'Very expensive eggs': Some Boston-area restaurants feel effects of bird flu on egg supplies

Brunch was almost a bust last week at Veggie Galaxy.

The Cambridge diner, like many businesses in the U.S., found its owners scrambling to secure enough eggs amid shortages caused by the rapid spread of bird flu.

Managing Partner Michael Bissanti said the popular breakfast spot breaks hundreds of eggs each weekend. When its usual vendors ran dry, Bissanti said Veggie Galaxy had no choice but to call upon and shell out to other businesses.

"We were able to secure some eggs," Bissanti said. "Very expensive eggs, but they were eggs."

With millions of egg-laying hens culled due to the deadly virus, strained supplies and rising customer demands are spiking prices.

“There's real concern, [and] it's gotten worse almost every day,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, about the rising cost of eggs. Small businesses and suppliers "can't even get the amount of eggs that they need to serve their consumers.”

Bissanti said the his vendors doubled their egg prices, costing him roughly $400 more per week. He said the restaurant added a 50-cent surcharge to every egg dish its owners hope will be temporary.

“ That does not cover the cost of the increase,” he said. “It just helps offset it a little bit.”

To date, commercial farms in Massachusetts remain outbreak-free, according to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. A backyard flock of 30 chickens in Plymouth saw one positive case earlier this year.

However, state officials say Massachusetts is coping with its worst spread of the disease among wild birds ever.

As fears mount about the virus, other industry players worry a Massachusetts law also may be exacerbating egg shortages. Passed by ballot measure in 2016, the law demands that all eggs sold in the state come from cage-free chickens, no matter what state they originated from.

“Because we are a cage-free state, there's only so many farms that you can purchase from,” said  Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association.

California, Nevada, Oregon and other states have similar laws. More hens are kept cage-free today, according to The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which estimates they make up roughly 40% of America's total egg-laying flock.

Natalie Fernsebner, general manager of Dave’s Fresh Pasta, says the restaurant buys their eggs from a commercial vendor who gets them from outside Massachusetts. She said cooks use roughly 1,600 eggs a week to make the pasta, and like Veggie Galaxy, they've seen egg prices nearly double over the last few weeks.

“The only thing we can do is react by raising our prices which we have not done yet, but it’s certainly something we need to consider," she said. "We don’t know how long this will go on for obviously, but it’s certainly not sustainable.”