Yesterday we told you how Costco and other major stores are enforcing a strict one-dozen-eggs-per-customer rule because egg shortages are so bad:
Well, in New York City they've responded to the problem in, well, the most New York Way imaginable:
New York City bodegas are selling 'loosie'-style eggs — à la notorious single cigarettes — as bird flu shortages send the prices of cartons skyrocketing, The Post has learned.
Fernando Rodriguez, 62, owner of Pamela's Green Deli in the Bronx said many of his customers simply can't shell out $10.99 for a full carton of the beloved breakfast food.
'These people don't have enough money to buy a dozen eggs, so I have to sell them separately,' said Rodriguez, 62. 'When I saw how high the price of eggs has become, we decided to break it down into small bags.'
"These people don't have enough money to buy a dozen eggs, so I have to sell them separately."
Pretty sure if they don't have enough money to buy a $10 pack of eggs, they technically don't have enough money to pay $1 per egg, either, which is ultimately more expensive!
But I digress. I suppose if you just need one or two eggs, it might make sense, in some way, to pay the inflated price for them if you just get a few. Which is apparently what a lot of people are doing:
Before the recent price spike, Rodriguez would typically sell a dozen large eggs for $2.49. He now offers three large Nelms brand "grade A" eggs in a plastic bag for $2.99 at the shop on East 166th Street and Third Avenue in Morrisania.
Roughly a third of his customers — many of whom are low-income — opt for the three loosies instead of a carton, he said.
Some folks really see the value in the bagged eggs. One customer remarked:
I used to give everybody two eggs for breakfast but now I will scramble these three eggs for my two sons, me and my brother to all share.
Egg prices are expected to rise even further this year, with regulators predicting at least an additional 20% spike in 2025.
I'm still gonna opt for the ultimately cheaper dozen if I need the eggs, though!
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