South Philadelphia Bakeries Cry Fowl Among Rising Egg Prices
As national restaurants like Denny’s and Waffle House introduce surcharges on meals with eggs, local businesses around the Philadelphia area also feel the pressure from egg prices.
According to Drexel University LeBow College of Business Department Head Ed Nelling, avian influenza is contributing to the skyrocketing cost of eggs. Nelling, who also serves as a professor of finance, said, “When chickens contract avian flu, they unfortunately have to be destroyed. So we have fewer eggs being produced and fewer eggs coming to the marketplace.”
For food businesses like South Philadelphia bakery Kay Kay’s, where eggs are a staple ingredient, owner Kaylyn Kahana is grappling with the prices she pays for the eggs that go into her baked goods.
“Everything we do involves eggs: French toast, egg breakfast sandwich, the cakes, the pastries, the cookies,” she said in an interview with CBS News Philadelphia.
Her daily routine now involves looking for the best deals for eggs.
“When we first opened eight years ago, a case of eggs cost about $9.50 to $10. This morning, I paid $125 for that same case of eggs,” she said.
In an average week, Kahana will use three to four cases of eggs. Her business will shift to high gear in about a month with Easter and a busy spring wedding season. Kahana said she is now forced to add a surcharge to her bakery’s breakfast sandwiches containing eggs.
Kahana isn’t the only business dealing with the high cost of eggs. Vincent Termini Jr. of Termini Brothers in South Philadelphia said his bakery uses more than 3,000 pounds of eggs weekly.
In January, the bakery purchased eggs for $3 a pound. Today, eggs are going for $4.40 per pound and higher. Coupled with the high prices has been the decrease in availability. “We ordered a lot of eggs, and the truck shows up and there are no eggs there,” Termini explained in an interview with 6abc News.
“Prices are going to have to go up,” he said.
Top Signs You May Have 'Celebrity Worship Syndrome'
Obsessive Fixation
Your social life and personal relationships suffer because you constantly find yourself steering conversations toward the latest updates or news about the celebrity. This makes it challenging to engage in meaningful interactions with others. For example, during a dinner with friends, instead of participating in conversations about shared interests or experiences, you find yourself steering the discussion towards the latest gossip about the celebrity’s personal life or career moves, dominating the conversation. Sorry, but not everyone wants to hear what “Swelcie” ate for lunch today.
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Extreme Loyalty
Being loyal to your favorite celeb is great. Until it isn’t. Any negative media coverage or criticism of the celebrity feels like a personal attack, leading you to defend them even when their actions may be questionable or harmful. Let’s say a tabloid publishes a critical article about the celebrity you idolize, accusing them of unethical behavior. Rather than assessing the information presented, you fight tooth and nail for the celebrity online. This includes engaging in heated arguments with strangers who express differing opinions. Maybe even feeling personally attacked by any negative comments directed towards the celebrity.
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Extreme Measures to Emulate
You find yourself adopting the mannerisms, speech patterns, or even fashion choices of the celebrity in an attempt to emulate them. This can sometimes cause you to lose sight of your own unique identity in the process. You might decide to undergo extensive plastic surgery to alter your appearance to resemble the celebrity you admire. This includes actions like getting lip injections to mimic their full pout or undergoing rhinoplasty to match their nose shape, ultimately losing sight of your own natural features and uniqueness in pursuit of something unattainable.
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Financially Reckless Behavior
Another sign is engaging in excessive spending on celebrity-related activities. This includes attending concerts, purchasing memorabilia, or traveling to events, despite financial constraints or mounting debt. For instance, you find yourself continuously following a popular musician on tour, attending multiple concerts in different cities. Each concert you go to has several expenses for travel, accommodation, tickets, and merchandise, pushing you further into financial distress. Despite warnings from friends and family about your unsustainable spending habits, you prioritize your idol’s concerts over your financial well-being. This ultimately leaves you facing severe financial consequences.
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Delusional Fantasies of Personal Connection
You experience intense jealousy or resentment towards anyone who you perceive as having a closer connection to the celebrity, whether it’s other fans, their friends, or even their romantic partners, leading to irrational behavior or hostile attitudes towards these people. You might even spend hours researching the celebrity’s favorite hangout spots or following their social media activity to determine their whereabouts. Suppose you happen to spot them in public. In that case, you may impulsively approach them, convinced that if they just got to know you, they would want to befriend you or pursue a romantic relationship despite the unrealistic nature of these expectations.
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