Andy Hoover, owner of Bake Shop Bakes in Tyrone, said the increase has been “insane” on his business. When the shop opened in 2018, they were paying about $0.06 an egg, where they paid “66 cents a piece at the end of last week.”

“It doesn’t seem like there’s going to be any relief for us for a little bit,” Hoover said.

Bake Shop Bakes uses an average of about 90 dozen eggs a week, or about 5 to 6 cases. That number can increase to 15 cases during holidays.

Hoover said a case of eggs contains 15 dozen, which he paid $30 for in the past. The last case he bought set him back about $117.

Egg prices have increased by as much as 550% in a matter of weeks. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Over the course of a year, that would mean a cost increase of about $33,696 for eggs alone.

Mamie’s Cafe and Bakery in Martinsburg took to Facebook to express similar difficulties, saying they are paying $0.63 per egg, when they were paying $0.28 per egg in February 2024.

“With 125,000 eggs used here at Mamie’s, that’s a massive shift in costs — $43,750 more,” the post read. “Fingers crossed for more stable prices ahead!”

Also in Martinsburg, Traditions Restaurant and Bakery has felt the pinch, but not as badly as some stores due to utilizing several local providers, according to manager Tyler Zimmerman. He said they are able to keep overhead costs down by going with the provider with the lowest costs at the time.

Zimmerman said Traditions was paying about $20 for 15 dozen eggs in October 2024, while they recently shelled out $130 for the same amount.

“It’s a huge increase, but not our worst-case scenario,” Zimmerman said.

Traditions goes through about 15 cases of 15 dozen eggs a week, costing the bakery about $1,950. If the cost stays the same, they’ll spend about $101,400 on eggs in 2025, compared to about $15,600 in 2024.

Lisa Becker of Lisa Becker Bakery in Altoona described the situation as “frustrating.”

“It’s a shame, but my salesman told me a case of eggs, 15 dozen eggs, was $120,” Becker said. “So I said, ‘I’m sorry, but I’m going to run to Sam’s Club.'”

With over 30 years in the business, Becker said she’s never seen it “this bad.”

“It’s like my husband says: wait until they release the locusts,” Becker said.

While the Mansion Donut Company in Altoona doesn’t use eggs directly, there are dehydrated eggs in their donut mix, causing its price to increase by about 20%, owner Brian Detwiler said.

Egg prices aren’t the only ingredients seeing an increase, though, as

“chocolate has really gone up, as well as milk and dairy,” Detwiler said.

Hoover said a 50-pound bag of cocoa powder used to cost him between $75 and $80, while the most recent bag set him back $320 — quadrupling in price.

“We raised our prices back in November when we redid our menu, but we’re still getting slammed with our eggs,” Hoover said. “The eggs have really affected us, and the cocoa has been slowly rising.”

Bake Shop Bakes sells mostly baked goods, so Hoover is hoping prices will come down. In the meantime, he’s thinking of adding a 5% inflation surcharge on items that contain eggs.

Hoover said he hasn’t heard any pushback from customers because “for the most part, pretty much everyone understands.”

“They understand because when they go to buy a dozen eggs, they see they’re paying like $8,” Hoover said.

Becker said she also had to “post an increase on everything I do,” as she bakes everything from scratch.

“Chocolate has doubled in price where eggs have creeped up,” Becker said. “I just have to watch what my ingredients cost.”

Cocoa powder went from $200 for her last 50-pound bag to $360 for her most recent, while the semi-sweet chocolate chips for items like her ganache doubled in price.

“This is reality,” Becker said. “Everything I do here is made to order.”

A supplier of five restaurants, Becker said she hasn’t had to cut back on any orders because of her price increase.

“You just have to make up for it somewhere, until (prices increase) somewhere else,” Becker said.

Traditions hasn’t raised their prices, but recently worked through a price increase after waiting two months “hoping it would blow over,” Zimmerman said.

The new menus, displaying an average increase of about $1 for items containing eggs, are at the print shop, he added.

“We pride ourselves on making our goods from scratch,” Zimmerman said. “Overall, there are eggs in all of those items. There will be a small increase in those prices, on average about $1, with menu prices about 2%.”

Zimmerman said they were trying to be “very conservative” because they don’t want to take advantage of their customers.

“I have a good feeling prices will come down once winter is over because that’s usually when egg prices increase,” Zimmerman said. “It’s just more highlighted this year.”

At the Mansion Donut Company, Detwiler is still trying to “avoid passing those on” to the customer.

“We have not changed our prices, we’re trying to hold on and absorb that increase so the customer doesn’t feel it as much,” Detwiler said. “I know other businesses that do and I don’t fault them for that.”

Open for about 2.5 years, the bakery also sells Penn State Creamery ice cream, specialty coffees and craft lemonade.

“It’s certainly made it a lot tighter in house,” Detwiler said. “We’re a small business, so our margins are tight to begin with, and now they’re a lot tighter.”

Becker remains optimistic, saying she doesn’t think increasing prices will stop customers from ordering baked goods.

“They’re still going to order their cakes,” Becker said. “They’re still going to order their desserts, just like they’re going to the grocery store. As long as it’s worth it, they’re going to pay the price.”

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.