How Americans Are Changing the Way They Buy Breakfast

Despite fears over inflation, data shows that Americans are still buying breakfast, but the way we do that — and the price we pay — are changing.

According to the Q1 2025 Restaurant Trends Report from Toast, a restaurant point-of-sale and management software company, our breakfast habits have experienced some dramatic changes this year. 

To start, Monday mornings are now one of the busiest times for breakfast in restaurants, with breakfast transactions on this day of the week up by 7% compared with the first quarter of last year. However, delivery is driving much of that growth: Breakfast orders placed through delivery platforms rose 15% year over year, while dine-in activity stayed flat.

That early-week rush comes with a price tag. The median cost of an omelet at Toast-tracked restaurants hit $14.71 in April 2025 — up 5.4% from April 2024. Prices have also increased consistently month over month since January. Hawaii posted the highest average omelet price, at $18.67 this quarter, while Arkansas had the lowest, at $11.53.

Although inflation may be partly to blame, these price increases are largely attributed to supply‑chain issues. Outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza (commonly called bird flu) in the United States have led to the culling of millions of egg‑laying hens over the past year.

Amid supply‑chain instability, repeated disruptions to egg production have created sharp swings in wholesale pricing, which many restaurants are still adjusting to. Some operators have responded by adding egg surcharges or switching to liquid egg products, while others have quietly reduced portion sizes or restructured their menus altogether.

Toast’s pricing data aligns with trends in how people are eating away from home. According to the May 2025 Consumer Price Index, the cost of eating out rose 0.3% month over month and 3.8% compared with the same period last year. This is a slower growth rate than earlier in the inflation cycle, but it reflects the cumulative impact of menu changes and lingering operational costs. Simply put, even as grocery prices begin to cool, restaurant menus haven’t caught up.

Omelets aren’t the only items becoming more expensive. Toast’s data show that the median price of a burger reached $14.38 in May 2025 (up 0.5% month over month), while burritos averaged $13.38 (also up 0.5%). Wings climbed to $13.77, marking a 0.7% increase from April, and beer ticked up slightly to a median price of $6.44 on restaurant menus. Only coffee and cold brew held steady, with median prices at $3.50 and $5.40, respectively.

Customer tipping behavior remains relatively unchanged in the face of these increasing prices. In the first quarter of 2025, guests at full‑service restaurants tipped an average of 19.4 %, and Delaware once again ranked as the most generous state in the country, with a total average tipping rate of 22.1%.

Toast’s quarterly report draws from aggregated data across more than 140,000 restaurant locations on its platform. While national CPI data show broad inflation easing, Toast’s more granular snapshot suggests that the costs of individual menu items are still in flux.

For restaurant operators, menu pricing reflects not just ingredient cost but also strategy. If you’re going to add an expensive omelet to a restaurant menu, make sure it’s available on Mondays.