Soaring egg prices hitting hard at Queens deli amid bird flu outbreak
RIDGEWOOD, Queens (WABC) -- The price of eggs have skyrocketed thanks to the bird flu, impacting everything from big-chain grocery stores and restaurants, to the local deli around the corner selling your favorite bacon, egg and cheese.
At Benny's Deli in Ridgewood, Queens, they've been getting up at the crack of dawn every morning for more than 50 years, to prepare for the morning rush.
"Breakfast is a big part of my business. It's a big staple. It has been for many years," said deli owner Anthony Bonavita. "We do sandwiches, platters, you name it, French toast, pancakes. Everything has that ingredient of eggs, is used."
He says that when it comes to egg sandwiches, they could pop out 50 to 60 in just a couple hours.
The bacon egg and cheese is the star of their show, but best supporting actor is the "Big Sexy."
"Everybody's been coming in for it. It's becoming very popular," said employee Tito Rivera. "It's two pieces of French toast. It's bacon, egg and cheese or sausage, because you know sausage goes good with syrup."
But with a bird flu outbreak forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, the family-owned deli is struggling to keep up with soaring egg prices.
"An average case used to be $60-$70. Today I pay $221," Bonavita said.
Over at Trader Joe's on the Upper West Side, every morning, there's a fresh supply of eggs.
But on Wednesday, the grocery store started imposing a one carton per customer limit. By the afternoon, the shelves were empty.
Things have become so desperate that Pennsylvania State Police are "scrambling" to catch thieves who "poached" 100,000 eggs from Pete and Gerry's Farm, off the back of a trailer in Antrim Township this past weekend.
Police say the current retail value of the eggs is about $40,000.
Meanwhile, back in Ridgewood, where a bacon egg and cheese sandwich sells for $5.50, Bonavita is trying to see the sunny side of things, but he says soon, he'll have no choice but to raise prices.
"I'm trying to hold on. The most I would go up is a dollar but I don't even want to do that," Bonavita said.
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