SEATTLE — Luna Park Café was hit early Wednesday morning, with thieves stealing hundreds of eggs. The burglary highlights the challenges faced by businesses in a time of soaring egg prices, caused in part by the ongoing bird flu outbreak.
Heong Park, the owner of Luna Park Café, was alerted to the break-in by security cameras. However, just as he arrived, the culprits fled.
“I’ve owned a restaurant for 18 years, this has never happened to me,” Park said.
Surveillance footage from the incident shows two men arriving in a white van then they proceeded to break into the café’s refrigerated shed. The thieves made off with three cases of eggs, one case of liquid egg, and several cases of bacon, ham, and blueberries.
According to Det. Brian Pritchard of the Seattle Police Department, the stolen goods included 540 eggs.
The burglary comes at a time when eggs have become a rare and expensive commodity due to the bird flu epidemic, which has led to the culling of over 150 million poultry birds in the U.S. since 2022.
“What’s more important with these eggs these days is more than just the price, it is really hard to get because of the bird flu. We just can’t get it anymore,” Park explained.
Park added that egg prices have surged dramatically, with 15 dozen eggs now costing him around $120, up from just $30 two years ago. Despite these high costs, Park has resisted raising prices at his café, holding onto hope that the egg shortage will soon ease.
“I didn’t raise it yet because I’m hoping that this is a temporary situation,” he said.
The crime is not an isolated incident. In Pennsylvania, authorities are investigating a similar case in which 100,000 eggs, worth $40,000, were stolen from the back of a trailer.
For Park, the emotional toll of the theft is compounded by the financial loss.
“I hope they get caught so there are no more victims,” he said.