Avian flu sends egg prices soaring — latest challenge for Bend restaurants raising menu prices

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A bird flu strain across the country has forced farmers to kill millions of egg-laying hens, in turn reducing the country's egg supply and prompting egg prices to nearly double.

It's a jump in costs that McKay Cottage and The Victorian Cafe, two Bend restaurants that specialize in breakfast dishes, have both faced in recent weeks.

"It's unbelievable," Pam Morgan, the owner at McKay Cottage, told NewsChannel 21 on Tuesday.

Morgan has watched the prices of eggs go from $18 at the start of the year to $28 and now $45.

John Nolan, the The Victorian Cafe owner for 20 years, said he recently paid $60 for an order of eggs.

It's not just the bird flu raising the cost of eggs and other items, it's also inflation. Nolan said he used to pay $6 for an order of eggs when he first took over the restaurant in 2002. Inflation has forced both restaurants to increase menu prices.

“It’s really been a battle constantly for a couple of years here of really just what we are going through,” Nolan said.

In the last year, McKay Cottage raised its prices about $1, while The Victorian Cafe raised its prices for the first time in 2 1/2 years.

"I raised my prices," Nolan said. "At this point, I'm debating how to not raise them all the time."

"Now we are in a position where we have accepted and we have to roll through these problems," he said. "And we have a positive outlook that we are tough enough to get through it -- if not by ourselves, then together."