Whataburger has limited its breakfast-serving hours due to a national egg shortage blamed on the so-called bird flu.
Corpus Christi-based Whataburger on Monday adjusted its breakfast menu hours to 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekdays, and 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekends. The fast-food chain previously offered breakfast from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m. daily.
"That seems like it's a crime in Texas," said Valley Ranch resident Jennifer Redmon. "I mean, you got to have a Whataburger every once in a while, in the middle of the night, so that's a shame."
A Whataburger statement said the change allows restaurants to concentrate the limited egg supply during peak breakfast hours.
Avian influenza has spread through parts of the Midwest this year, forcing euthanizing of some birds to prevent the spread of the virus.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says confirmed outbreaks have cost chicken and turkey producers over 44 million birds. Egg prices have soared.
Whataburger said the restaurant chain's breakfast time change involves an egg supply issue and has nothing to do with health safety.
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When the shortage is resolved, the restaurant chain is expected to return to serving breakfast from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m. daily.
Major chains such as Taco Bell, Dunkin' Donuts and IHOP say they're monitoring the situation but haven't yet been affected.
In a statement released Monday evening, a Whataburger spokesperson said:
"We're just as bummed as our customers about having to temporarily change our breakfast hours, due to the national egg shortage caused by an avian flu outbreak. Beyond serving eggs on their own, many of our breakfast items like Pancakes, Honey Butter sauce and Cinnamon Rolls are made with eggs. For this reason, we had to limit the hours of the entire breakfast menu to our peak times, in order to supply our 770+ individual locations across 10 states.
We don't know why other restaurants haven't been affected by this shortage yet, but it sure has affected us. Our primary egg supplier was one of the hardest hit by this shortage. The change back to our regular breakfast menu and hours will happen gradually as we replenish our supply; we will be sure to keep you informed.
We're a company that strongly believes in tradition and the last thing we would want to do is disrupt our customers' routines unless absolutely necessary. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience."
Many grocery chains are also feeling the effects of the egg shortage.
"What we're hearing is this is going to last until summer, end of the summertime," said Gary Huddleston, with Kroger. "Until more hens can develop and also the egg shortage would subside somewhat."
