Olivia Kelleher, a news reporter for KUTV 2 News, said that Denny's is experiencing rising food costs, with record-high egg prices prompting major restaurant chains to implement surcharges. She made this statement on her social media platform on February 25.
"A surcharge on egg dishes," said Kelleher, Multimedia Journalist. "The price of coffee reached a record high in January. The USDA predicts the price of sugar to rise 6.4% in 2025."
According to CNN, Denny’s has introduced a temporary egg surcharge in response to a nationwide egg shortage, which has led to soaring prices across the restaurant industry. The company said that the surcharge will vary by location and market conditions without specifying exact amounts or affected locations.
Denny’s has become the latest restaurant chain to introduce a temporary egg surcharge at select locations due to the ongoing national egg shortage. The company stated that pricing adjustments will vary by region, though it did not specify the exact surcharge amount or affected markets. This move follows Waffle House’s recent decision to implement a $0.50 per egg surcharge, as rising costs continue to impact the restaurant industry.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the egg price index rose 15.2% in January 2025, marking the largest monthly increase since June 2015. This spike contributed to two-thirds of the total monthly rise in the food-at-home index. Over the past year, egg prices have increased by 53.0%, driven by supply chain disruptions and higher production costs, while the broader meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index increased by 6.1% during the same period.
In addition to surge pricing, Uber has implemented temporary surcharges in response to external factors affecting driver expenses. For instance, in March 2022, amid rising fuel costs, Uber introduced a fuel surcharge of $0.45 or $0.55 per trip, depending on location, with 100% of the surcharge going directly to drivers.
Kelleher is a multimedia journalist at KUTV 2 News / KMYU who covers consumer trends and local politics. She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from USC Annenberg and previously worked in digital marketing as a Vice President of Creative before transitioning into broadcast journalism, according to her LinkedIn profile.