Waffle House and Denny’s Dropped Their Egg Charges. What About Blake’s Lotaburger in New Mexico?

Remember when a breakfast burrito was the cheap part of your morning?

In early 2025, the egg shortage had many New Mexicans paying more at the store and when they ate out.

Here’s what happened at Blake’s and where egg prices stand today.

Why the Surcharge Began

Blake’s pointed to the national avian flu outbreak.

The Albuquerque Journal reported on Jan. 22, 2025, a day before the $1 surcharge began.

Blake’s said in January 2025 that it serves fresh, cracked eggs.

Its sandwich contains two eggs, according to Blake’s website.

KOB, an Albuquerque TV station, reported that the chain chose a surcharge over changing its recipes.

Avian flu did reach New Mexico flocks in 2025.

USDA reported 339 domestic bird deaths from H5N1 bird flu between February and April.

Those flocks were in Roosevelt, Curry, Valencia and Bernalillo counties.

Every Location

KOB reported that Blake’s charged it everywhere. The chain’s website lists 70+ locations in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona.

The charge covered all menu items that include eggs. Burritos and sandwiches were named as examples.

Order breakfast at Blake’s?

Burritos and sandwiches both carried the extra dollar.

The receipt would show the $1 egg surcharge on top of the regular price of the item.

Blake’s online menu lists seven breakfast burritos. They run from the Bacon Burrito to the Chorizo Burrito.

There’s also the LOTA Breakfast Sandwich.

Is the Charge Still There?

Blake’s was unsure how long the shortage would last, KOB reported.

Six to nine months had been discussed as the time it could take for the national egg situation to change.

The last documented status is from January 2025. Is the charge still on your order?

That’s unconfirmed.

As of Oct. 5, 2026, Blake’s menu page lists calories for each breakfast item.

It shows no prices and no mention of an egg surcharge.

Other Chains’ Surcharges

Blake’s wasn’t the only restaurant chain to add an egg surcharge in early 2025.

Waffle House put a 50-cent-per-egg surcharge in place in February at all 1,900 of its U.S. restaurants.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported it.

If you ordered eggs there between February and June 2, 2025, each egg carried the 50-cent charge.

A three-egg plate cost about $1.50 more.

Fortune reported that Waffle House called its charge temporary and targeted. It said it chose that over raising prices across the menu.

The chain serves 272 million eggs a year.

Denny’s added one too in February.

The amount varied by location.

Denny’s dropped its surcharge on May 21. Waffle House ended its on June 2.

The AJC reported that a dozen eggs averaged $4.55 in May. That was the lowest since December’s $4.15.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said more than 26 million dozen shell eggs had arrived since January.

They came from Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, Turkey and South Korea.

Egg Prices in Early 2025

Blake’s added its surcharge as egg prices were rising nationwide.

The Journal reported that several grocery chains near Albuquerque had raised egg prices or capped purchases.

If you shopped for a carton that month, you may have met a higher price or a purchase limit.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks egg prices. In December 2024, a dozen Grade A large eggs averaged $4.15 nationally.

That average rose to $4.95 in January 2025 and $5.90 in February. It hit $6.23 in March 2025.

That’s $2.08 more for a dozen in three months.

In late January 2025, Grocery Dive reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expected egg prices for shoppers to rise 20.3% that year.

Where Egg Prices Stand Now

Blake’s surcharge arrived in the fourth calendar year of an avian flu outbreak.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) lists a 32.2% rise in retail egg prices for 2022.

For 2025, it lists 21.9%.

Then the BLS national average fell to $5.12 in April 2025 and $3.78 in June.

It was $2.14 in June 2026 and $2.27 in August 2026, the latest month the St. Louis Fed’s database listed as of Oct. 5.

That’s $3.96 below March 2025.

In its Sept. 25, 2026 update, ERS forecasts egg prices to fall 29.4% in 2026.

Its range is 32.9% to 25.2% lower.

That’s a drop forecast for 2026. For 2025, it had forecast a rise.

It points to fewer avian flu detections early in 2026 and enough young hens, called pullets, to replace lost flocks.

ERS reports percent changes in store egg prices.

BLS reports dollar averages.

So the two won’t match exactly.

What about your breakfast tab?

That forecast is for store prices, not restaurant menus.

The Ongoing Outbreak

Blake's cited avian flu.

ERS says that outbreak is ongoing and began in 2022, and it has reduced egg-layer flocks and egg production.