Bird flu is causing egg prices to soar, costing restaurants more, especially those that focus on brunch. Some restaurant owners say they are already raising prices.

The price of eggs has skyrocketed -- if eggs are even available -- at some Reno grocers as avian flu continues to cause nationwide shortages. The shelves have been empty for nearly three weeks at the Safeway at Damonte Ranch Town Center, according to employee Avi Weiss.

The Sun-Times visited 14 stores in various neighborhoods from Big Oaks to Edgewater, Morgan Park to Midway, and Bucktown and Austin to see what consumers were paying.

Photos of bare grocery refrigerator cases and tales of egg prices gone wild have been rampant on social media this winter. The scenes aren’t manufactured drama. The U.S. Department of Agriculture noted last week that some grocery stores have been limiting the number of cartons customers can buy and hanging signs announcing shortages where cartons of eggs would normally be stacked.

Egg prices in Colorado continue to climb, but the cause is not clear. Is it because of avian influenza, Colorado's new cage-free law or a bit of both?

The average price of a dozen large eggs starkly increased in California in December to $8.97, up from $5.68 in late November, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.

A shortage in the egg supply is driving up prices and that's not going over well with owner Solomon Sidell. "Just about six weeks ago, middle of November, we started getting phone calls from US Foods,

WBZ-TV's Mike Sullivan spoke with one Boston restaurant owner who says egg prices have doubled. President Biden stood next to Gov. Gavin Newsom and pledged full federal support as fires burned through Los Angeles County.

Hannaford's Communications Manager Caitlin Cortelyo said because of the avian flu, fewer eggs are available to retailers and that customers may see shortages.