What’s breakfast without eggs? Amidst soaring egg prices and a national shortage, Cracker Barrel said Thursday that its customers won’t be extra for eggs because “there’s nothing hospitable about that.”

Just days after Georgia-based Waffle House announced a new, but temporary surcharge of 50 cents per egg at locations nationwide due to ongoing pricing and availability issues brought on by H5N1 bird flu, Cracker Barrel announced it would do the opposite.

“At Cracker Barrel, country hospitality is as important to us as a hearty breakfast – and that means not charging extra for eggs,” the restaurant and gift store chain said in a statement. Additionally, the company’s rewards members will earn “double pegs” on all egg dishes through Wednesday, Feb. 12.

“We know our guests already have a lot on their plates, so we’ll just stay focused on serving up plates of delicious food at incredible value, like our Sunrise Pancake Special starting at $7.99,” the statement read. “We’ve got you covered, all-day breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

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Waffle House implements ‘temporary’ 50-cent surcharge per egg

Waffle House’s egg surcharge, which went into effect on Monday, was implemented at roughly 2,100 diners across the country, USA TODAY previously reported.

“Consumers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions,” Waffle House said in a statement. “Rather than increasing prices across the menu, this is a temporary targeted surcharge tied to the unprecedented rise in egg prices.”

Eggs will continue to be available in popular menu offerings despite the extra charge, according to the chain, which also said it hopes the price fluctuations will be “short-lived.” Waffle House serves around 272 million eggs per year, according to its website, well surpassing even its legendary waffles, of which it sells just 124 million.

“We are continuously monitoring egg prices and will adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow,” the statement read.

Where have all the eggs gone? And why are they so expensive?

The current “Egg-flation” crisis is the result of the current bird flu outbreak, which has killed off egg-laying poultry en mass since it began in January 2022.

That, combined with factors such as inflation or a change in laws and regulations, has directly impacted the average price of eggs. By the end of 2024, the average price of eggs per dozen in the U.S. was $4.10, double the cost reported in August 2023, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Eggs prices are expected to rise by about 20% over the year, while overall food prices are only forecast to increase by 2.2%, according to an outlook from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The virus has infected about 150 million poultry across 50 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result of the spread, infected birds have been selectively slaughtered across the country, sometimes millions of birds at a single location.

More than 13 million hens have been slaughtered or lost since December, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department's latest egg markets overview.

The average cost of eggs was $5.29 a dozen in late January, up from about $3.50 around the same time last year, NBC reported, citing the NIQ consumer research group.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Betty Lin-Fisher, Eric Lagatta and Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY