Cracker Barrel starts beef with Waffle House over egg surcharge; ‘there’s nothing hospitable about that’

It might not be to the level of Kendrick Lamar and Drake, but there’s a beef stewing between a pair of restaurant chains. According to NBC News, Cracker Barrel has taken issue with competitor Waffle House after it was announced earlier this week that Waffle House is implementing a 50-cent surcharge for each egg a customer orders in their meals.

“A surcharge on eggs? Well, there’s nothing hospitable about that,” Cracker Barrel said in a statement. “At Cracker Barrel, country hospitality is as important to us as a hearty breakfast — and that means not charging extra for eggs.” Along with cracking jokes about the competition, Cracker Barrel is using the situation to promote its rewards program as all customers who order eggs between Feb. 6 and Feb. 12 will earn double rewards points.

In making its announcement, Waffle House cited the rising cost of eggs and the ongoing egg shortage as the reason for adding the surcharge. “While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived, we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” Waffle House said, while adding it will continue to monitor egg prices.

Although the move is supposed to be temporary, egg prices aren’t expected to drop anytime soon as the Agriculture Department predicts egg prices are going to increase by another 20% this year. In December, the average cost for a dozen eggs in the U.S. was $4.15. The shortage has been caused by the ongoing bird flu outbreak that’s led to millions of chickens having to be slaughtered over the last couple of years.

— news from MLive.com