Restaurants scramble for solution to record egg prices
Egg prices are hitting restaurants hard. Several Twin Cities restaurants have added temporary egg surcharges.
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You can’t miss it at the grocery store: egg prices are at a record high. The latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found in the Midwest the wholesale price for large white eggs is $8.42 per dozen. Many grocery stores are even putting limits on how many eggs you can buy.
Egg prices are hitting restaurants hard. Several Twin Cities restaurants have added temporary egg surcharges. Marty's Deli in northeast Minneapolis announced it’s adding $1 to all sandwiches with eggs on Monday.
The owner of Marty’s Deli, Martha Polacek, joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about their decision to add a surcharge to egg items, why their business can’t absorb the cost of eggs and how they’re looking at the future of the food they serve.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA MOINI: It's our top story on Minnesota Now. You've likely noticed it at the grocery store. Egg prices are at a record high. The latest report from the US Department of Agriculture found in the midwest, wholesale prices for large white eggs is $8.42 per dozen, and many grocery stores are even putting a limit on how many eggs you can buy.
It's also hitting restaurants hard. Several local Twin Cities restaurants have added temporary egg surcharges. Most recently, Marty's Deli in Northeast Minneapolis shared they're going to be adding a $1 charge to sandwiches with eggs. Joining us now is the owner of Marty's Deli, Martha Polaceck. Martha, thanks so much for coming on to discuss this with us today.
MARTHA POLACEK: Thanks for having me.
NINA MOINI: Martha, I don't know exactly how long Marty's Deli has been around. How long have you all been in the area?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, we've been open for two years as a restaurant.
NINA MOINI: OK, and how has it been the past couple of years? I mean, things are still kind of calming down and changing a lot since the pandemic. How has it been starting a business like this?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, that's exactly it. It's constantly changing. It's been great, no complaints. But it is-- it's a forever game. We're playing a game.
NINA MOINI: Yeah you never know what's going to be happening. Egg prices are up now. I'm assuming it wasn't an easy decision to add that $1 surcharge. Can you tell me a little bit about what went into that decision for you?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, not at all. It wasn't easy. We don't like to increase our prices. I think every restaurant gets probably the most flack for their prices. It's just an expensive business to be in. But the decision became a little bit easier when, as you said, you can see the price change in grocery stores. So our customers are able to see that it's not just that we were trying to make more money, we're actually just trying to cover our costs there. And they can see those changes in their grocery store, as well.
NINA MOINI: If you don't mind sharing, can you talk a little bit about just how this has changed your budgeting and how you're able to operate? Has it been a pretty big blow?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, it has been a big blow. We've seen 2 to 3 times the prices of eggs. Everything, all ingredients across the board, has gone up, but eggs especially. We're unable to get the free range organic eggs that we were getting, and now we're spending twice as much on conventional eggs.
Each one of our sandwiches, like you mentioned, we had to raise the price $1. But they each have three eggs in them, and each egg we're spending about $0.50 extra on. So as you'll probably notice from some of the bigger restaurants around, they've raised their prices $0.50 an egg. And so we decided to-- we'll just try to eat a little bit of the cost there.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. And why did you feel like it was important to be transparent about this? You could have jacked the prices up and just hope nobody notices. I mean, that does happen when people feel like they need to bring in more revenue. Why did you decide you wanted to be pretty public about this?
MARTHA POLACEK: You know, that's just kind of part of the business. We're pretty open about everything. But also, we have a huge community of regulars that come in daily, if not weekly. And we just-- I mean, I knew that they would notice. I'm not trying to hide anything like that.
NINA MOINI: Right. Do you think that this is something that is going on in other places? Are you hearing from people, business owners in your own neighborhood, or are you getting a sense, just word of mouth, how much of an issue this is causing for restaurants across the state?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, totally. I'm hearing it. I mean, again, like I said, it's not just eggs, but everyone's having trouble right now. Our margins are getting slimmer and slimmer. I noticed I had a lot of responses to my post about us having to increase our prices. A lot of people said that they did it. You know, they've done it in the last few weeks.
So yes, a lot. I think it's happening across the board and everyone's frustrated and a little bit scared. But yeah, we're all in it together.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. And so those regulars that come in, what are they saying?
MARTHA POLACEK: Everybody's been great. I mean, our-- we have an incredible customer base. They're so kind and everyone's been super understanding. We'll just see the long term effects. People that are just kind of walking off the street or just trying us for the first time sometimes are a little stunned by the $10 egg sandwich.
NINA MOINI: Well, and maybe not even anymore.
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah.
NINA MOINI: I wonder what you're thinking about for the next year or two, and just how you're feeling about business in general. Are you concerned about your ability to continue operating? You know, two years is not a long time, but it's pretty great for starting a restaurant, right?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, totally. I mean, I-- it's always a little nerve wracking. The whole business is. But I feel confident. We have just so many loyal customers. The only risk is if we're facing another pandemic, but I feel confident.
NINA MOINI: Great. What do you think it would take to for you to bring prices back down or to get rid of that egg surcharge? What do you need to see?
MARTHA POLACEK: I need egg prices to drop 50%. They're-- yeah, if they drop back down to 2024 prices, we certainly could. But anything, really, less than that is going to be a little-- it's going to be difficult.
NINA MOINI: And Martha, just before I let you go, what is your pitch to people? A lot of times when prices do rise, we know that some of the first things to go for people is their ability to dine out. What is your pitch for people to continue to invest in their local restaurants, local businesses, even when prices are climbing?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, totally. I mean, I just like to say if you like to have small businesses around, there's only one way to keep them. We are always trying to be a community space, and we just need support to keep going.
NINA MOINI: Martha, thank you so much for your time and coming on with us. I really appreciate it.
MARTHA POLACEK: Thanks for having me.
NINA MOINI: That was Martha Polacek, owner of Marty's Deli in Northeast Minneapolis.
It's also hitting restaurants hard. Several local Twin Cities restaurants have added temporary egg surcharges. Most recently, Marty's Deli in Northeast Minneapolis shared they're going to be adding a $1 charge to sandwiches with eggs. Joining us now is the owner of Marty's Deli, Martha Polaceck. Martha, thanks so much for coming on to discuss this with us today.
MARTHA POLACEK: Thanks for having me.
NINA MOINI: Martha, I don't know exactly how long Marty's Deli has been around. How long have you all been in the area?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, we've been open for two years as a restaurant.
NINA MOINI: OK, and how has it been the past couple of years? I mean, things are still kind of calming down and changing a lot since the pandemic. How has it been starting a business like this?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, that's exactly it. It's constantly changing. It's been great, no complaints. But it is-- it's a forever game. We're playing a game.
NINA MOINI: Yeah you never know what's going to be happening. Egg prices are up now. I'm assuming it wasn't an easy decision to add that $1 surcharge. Can you tell me a little bit about what went into that decision for you?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, not at all. It wasn't easy. We don't like to increase our prices. I think every restaurant gets probably the most flack for their prices. It's just an expensive business to be in. But the decision became a little bit easier when, as you said, you can see the price change in grocery stores. So our customers are able to see that it's not just that we were trying to make more money, we're actually just trying to cover our costs there. And they can see those changes in their grocery store, as well.
NINA MOINI: If you don't mind sharing, can you talk a little bit about just how this has changed your budgeting and how you're able to operate? Has it been a pretty big blow?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, it has been a big blow. We've seen 2 to 3 times the prices of eggs. Everything, all ingredients across the board, has gone up, but eggs especially. We're unable to get the free range organic eggs that we were getting, and now we're spending twice as much on conventional eggs.
Each one of our sandwiches, like you mentioned, we had to raise the price $1. But they each have three eggs in them, and each egg we're spending about $0.50 extra on. So as you'll probably notice from some of the bigger restaurants around, they've raised their prices $0.50 an egg. And so we decided to-- we'll just try to eat a little bit of the cost there.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. And why did you feel like it was important to be transparent about this? You could have jacked the prices up and just hope nobody notices. I mean, that does happen when people feel like they need to bring in more revenue. Why did you decide you wanted to be pretty public about this?
MARTHA POLACEK: You know, that's just kind of part of the business. We're pretty open about everything. But also, we have a huge community of regulars that come in daily, if not weekly. And we just-- I mean, I knew that they would notice. I'm not trying to hide anything like that.
NINA MOINI: Right. Do you think that this is something that is going on in other places? Are you hearing from people, business owners in your own neighborhood, or are you getting a sense, just word of mouth, how much of an issue this is causing for restaurants across the state?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, totally. I'm hearing it. I mean, again, like I said, it's not just eggs, but everyone's having trouble right now. Our margins are getting slimmer and slimmer. I noticed I had a lot of responses to my post about us having to increase our prices. A lot of people said that they did it. You know, they've done it in the last few weeks.
So yes, a lot. I think it's happening across the board and everyone's frustrated and a little bit scared. But yeah, we're all in it together.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. And so those regulars that come in, what are they saying?
MARTHA POLACEK: Everybody's been great. I mean, our-- we have an incredible customer base. They're so kind and everyone's been super understanding. We'll just see the long term effects. People that are just kind of walking off the street or just trying us for the first time sometimes are a little stunned by the $10 egg sandwich.
NINA MOINI: Well, and maybe not even anymore.
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah.
NINA MOINI: I wonder what you're thinking about for the next year or two, and just how you're feeling about business in general. Are you concerned about your ability to continue operating? You know, two years is not a long time, but it's pretty great for starting a restaurant, right?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, totally. I mean, I-- it's always a little nerve wracking. The whole business is. But I feel confident. We have just so many loyal customers. The only risk is if we're facing another pandemic, but I feel confident.
NINA MOINI: Great. What do you think it would take to for you to bring prices back down or to get rid of that egg surcharge? What do you need to see?
MARTHA POLACEK: I need egg prices to drop 50%. They're-- yeah, if they drop back down to 2024 prices, we certainly could. But anything, really, less than that is going to be a little-- it's going to be difficult.
NINA MOINI: And Martha, just before I let you go, what is your pitch to people? A lot of times when prices do rise, we know that some of the first things to go for people is their ability to dine out. What is your pitch for people to continue to invest in their local restaurants, local businesses, even when prices are climbing?
MARTHA POLACEK: Yeah, totally. I mean, I just like to say if you like to have small businesses around, there's only one way to keep them. We are always trying to be a community space, and we just need support to keep going.
NINA MOINI: Martha, thank you so much for your time and coming on with us. I really appreciate it.
MARTHA POLACEK: Thanks for having me.
NINA MOINI: That was Martha Polacek, owner of Marty's Deli in Northeast Minneapolis.
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