Baked of Bloomington's supplier has limited their egg supply. The state Board of Animal Health said the spread of bird flu in commercial hen flocks is affecting the supply.
(Lauren Tucker/WTIU News)
As egg prices continue to climb, local businesses are feeling the strain. Restaurants and bakeries that rely on eggs for their signature dishes are navigating increased costs and supply challenges.
Abraham Carney, owner of Bright Side Café in Bloomington, says his business uses around 3,000 eggs each month. The recent price hike added nearly $600 to the business’s monthly expenses.
"We have to figure out where that money comes from and how to continue to sustain the business," Carney said.
While the café has slightly raised prices on some menu items, Carney is committed to keeping the cost of key egg-based products — such as muffins, brownies, and coffee cakes — affordable.
Bright Side Café owner Abraham Carney works in the kitchen. (Lauren Tucker/WTIU News)
Jeremy Ness, co-owner of the Bloomington bakery Baked, has also been affected. His supplier now limits him to 15 to 30 dozen eggs per day, a restriction he hasn’t faced before.
Despite the shortage, Ness won’t use substitutes, believing real eggs are crucial to quality.
"We haven't looked into any substitute products or anything like that," Ness said. "We think that the real egg in its shell really is the top-quality ingredient, and we need that in order to be making the best cookies we can."
For now, Ness isn’t raising prices. Instead, he has adjusted inventory management, cutting back on the amount of dough made each week to prevent waste.
Nationally, nearly 45 million egg-laying hens have died over the last year due to the latest strain of bird flu. In Indiana, more than 6.6 million egg-laying hens in commercial flocks have been euthanized to contain outbreaks. (Lauren Tucker/WTIU News)
"About half of those cases have been on commercial poultry flocks where they produce eggs, so it's had a pretty detrimental effect on the state," said Denise Derrer Spears, Public Information Director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health.
