By CHRIS MEGERIAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said that he likes the idea of giving some of the savings from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency back to U.S. citizens as a kind of dividend.

He said at an investment conference in Miami on Wednesday that the administration is considering a concept in which 20% of the savings produced by DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts goes to American citizens and another 20% goes to paying down the national debt.

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Trump also said the potential for dividend payments would incentivize people to report wasteful spending.

“They’ll be reporting it themselves,” Trump said. “They participate in the process of saving us money.”

Later, as he flew back to Washington aboard Air Force One, he was asked by a reporter about the plan floated by Musk.

“I love it,” the Republican president told reporters on the plane.

A day earlier, Musk wrote on his social media platform that he “will check with the President” in response to a suggestion that Trump and Musk should announce a ”DOGE Dividend” that would send a refund to taxpayers from part of the savings created by DOGE. Its efforts have already led to thousands of federal government employees being fired or laid off.

Karen Huebner did not want to raise the price of omelets.

Even as she was paying more for eggs week after week, she held prices steady on over-easy dishes and breakfast burritos and other customer favorites at the Hot Grillz Diner, the small, restaurant her family owns in Walton Hills, Ohio, about 15 miles southeast of Cleveland.

But last week, as shortages pushed the cost of her egg order to nearly $1,000, from $300 about a month ago, the moment had arrived.

Karen Huebner, the owner of Hot Grillz Diner in Walton Hills, Ohio, Feb. 12, 2025. “My loyal customers would rather pay 50 cents more an egg right now than to see these doors close because I can’t pay my rent,” said Huebner. (Daniel Lozada/The New York Times)

“I said I wasn’t going to do it, but this is crushing me,” Huebner said. “My loyal customers would rather pay 50 cents more an egg right now than to see these doors close because I can’t pay my rent.”

As the wholesale price of eggs — what retailers and restaurants pay — rises, hitting a new high of $8.11 a dozen, breakfast specials at some restaurants are getting more expensive.

Waffle House announced on Feb. 3 that it would add a temporary surcharge of 50 cents for each egg used in dishes. Across the country, smaller restaurant chains and bakeries that use a lot of eggs are either bumping prices up or adding temporary surcharges, trying to pass along some of the expense to inflation-weary customers.

“If you raise prices too much, you risk losing the customers,” said Ed Powers, the director of operations at Broken Yolk Cafe, a chain of 40 restaurants, largely in the West, where 70% of the menu items require eggs. The company has cut costs where it can, but it is considering raising the prices of its egg dishes. “What’s a fair price for an omelet?”

Making scrambled eggs at home isn’t much cheaper these days, either. Shoppers at many grocery stores, including Costco and Trader Joe’s, are finding sparsely filled shelves and signs limiting how many cartons of eggs they can buy at a time.

Those lucky enough to find eggs to buy are paying significantly more for them.

On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that grocery prices, which had been relatively flat in late 2023 and early 2024, climbed 1.9% in January on a yearly basis, largely because of egg prices. The price of eggs to consumers has jumped 15.2% over the past four weeks. Since last year, egg prices are up 53%.

Nationally, a dozen Grade A eggs were $4.95 in January, up from $2.52 a year ago, according to FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis economic database. (Grocery stores typically price products like milk and eggs as “loss leaders,” meaning they are sold for less than the wholesale price that stores pay, to entice customers into a store.)

Soaring prices have also led to at least two egg heists. In early February, thieves stole 100,000 organic eggs worth $40,000 from a distribution trailer in Pennsylvania, and last week more than 500 eggs were taken in the early morning from a cafe in Seattle.

How much higher prices will go and how long they will last are hard to predict. While egg prices have been volatile, partly because of inflation, much of the recent spike is attributed to the avian influenza caused by the H5N1 virus. When a farm has a confirmed case of the virus, the whole flock needs to be slaughtered to contain the spread. More than 45 million chickens — roughly 15% of the nation’s egg-laying population — have been killed in the past four months to prevent the spread of the disease, according to Karyn Rispoli, the egg managing editor at Expana, which tracks the prices of eggs.

In early February, more confirmed cases of bird flu were reported in commercial egg-laying operations in Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Eggs at Hot Grillz Diner in Walton Hills, Ohio, Feb. 12, 2025. Since last year, egg prices are up 53 percent for consumers. (Daniel Lozada/The New York Times)

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered all live bird markets in New York City and a few surrounding counties to close temporarily in an effort to stem the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, three ducks at the Queens Zoo died because of bird flu, and as many as 12 birds at the Bronx Zoo that had died after possible exposure were being tested for the virus, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the nonprofit that operates the parks.

Egg analysts say two things need to happen for egg prices to moderate: Confirmed cases of bird flu have to subside or end, giving egg-laying operations a chance to rebuild their flocks, and consumers need to curb their hoarding tendencies. Right now, some shoppers are buying eggs they don’t need but fear they won’t be able to get later.

“Consumers have largely adapted to higher grocery costs, so even at $5 per dozen, demand remains strong,” Rispoli said in an email during a morning when she was busy tracking egg prices. “And with eggs making national headlines daily, there may also be an element of panic buying, further fueling demand.”

Still, not all restaurants are raising prices. Some, like Cracker Barrel, are using the moment to gain a competitive advantage. Taking direct aim at Waffle House’s egg surcharge, Cracker Barrel said on social media not only that prices on egg dishes were “staying put,” but also that the chain’s loyalty rewards customers would get double points ordering those items.

Broken Yolk Cafe has tried to hold menu prices firm, even as the price of its primary ingredient soared. Instead, it tried to cut other costs, such as reducing credit card fees and working with suppliers to reduce the cost of restaurant supplies. It has also tried promotions of non-egg dishes, like a vegan burrito, but, Powers said, the chain has little choice but to increase prices for menu items made with eggs.

“It’s not even just cost at this point, it’s also supply,” Powers said, noting one restaurant in the chain that had put in its usual order for 20 cases of eggs (a case is 15 dozen eggs) received only eight from its supplier. “We’re being told it could take six to eight months before we see relief.”

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All in all, they have had a good run.

The staff and owners of Saint Dinette, the bright, modern “finer diner” in Lowertown St. Paul are choosing to focus on the positives as they prepare to close March 22.

The restaurant, which opened in the spring of 2014, has been serving butter-infused cheeseburgers, perfect omelettes, beautifully plated pastas and excellent cocktails for nearly 10 years, and that’s more than many places — even those adored by critics and tastemakers — get.

“I’m closing at this moment with a feeling of full achievement,” owner Tim Niver said. “I broke even and I had 10 years of something amazing.”

But overall, the story of Saint Dinette, and its fate, are emblematic of a larger issue: Many restaurants downtown, and particularly in Lowertown, are suffering, closed or on their way to it.

In general, owning a restaurant is harder than ever. Inflation has slashed profit margins for owners who are hesitant to raise prices lest they lose their regulars. Labor prices have leaped. Rent everywhere is sky-high, and interest rates make it unappealing to own a building. And customers, who are facing their own financial woes with interest rates, housing costs and inflation, have less money to spend on eating out.

Tim Niver, owner of Saint Dinette stops for a photo at his downtown St. Paul restaurant on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Almost every restaurant, Niver and others in the industry say, is just a few slow weeks or months away from closure.

These closures are a loss for the community — gathering places are an important part of our society, and all types of cuisine contribute to the culture and vibe of a city. But they’re also a loss for employees who have poured their hearts into the business.

Nicole Paton, general manager of Saint Dinette, said she fully understands what led to the closure and harbors no hard feelings. She and the restaurant’s 21 other employees are putting their all into these final few weeks.

“A restaurant closing doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” Paton said. “We’re going out by choice. Closing after 10 years isn’t anything to be disappointed about. I’m looking at it as a positive moment instead of spending all my time thinking about what I’m going to do next.”

For his part, Niver says the closure is multi-faceted. His landlord wanted him to sign a five-year lease, and he wasn’t confident that Lowertown would rebound enough to make that lease worthwhile.

“And the demographics of the area have changed,” Niver said. “When we opened, it was older people who lived around here, but the neighborhood flipped. Younger people have moved in, and what we do doesn’t fit that demographic. Their interests and what I do don’t necessarily align.”

Even bars that might appear to be geared toward a younger crowd aren’t immune, though. Just down the street, Dark Horse Bar & Eatery recently announced it would close on Valentine’s Day. The World of Beer space on nearby Sibley Street has been sitting empty since 2019, and the site of the former Black Dog Cafe has been unoccupied since 2022. With the exception of The Bulldog, all the restaurant spaces surrounding Mears Park are empty. And rumors of other nearby closures swirl as winter drags on.

Owner Steve Lott stands inside of Big River Pizza in St. Paul on Thursday, July 30, 2015. (Pioneer Press: Holly Peterson)

Saint Dinette’s across-the-street neighbor, Big River Pizza, is one of those teetering on the edge of closure. Owner Steve Lott said Lowertown’s changes include an influx of unhoused people, many of whom suffer from addiction and mental illness. While Lott used to be the first to offer an in-need person a free slice, he said he’s grown jaded from burglaries, overdoses on his street corner, a gun left in his restaurant and even a murder in the apartments above Big River.

Lott said an unpoliced light-rail line — which ends a block from his restaurant — and nearby facilities that help unhoused people are contributing to the problem.

“I think elected officials have good intentions,” Lott said. “But some of the policies have negatively impacted the business community.”

Areas outside the city center are suffering, too. Revival, the fried-chicken and burger-centric restaurant that opened a location on Selby Avenue late in 2016, recently — and suddenly — shuttered all of its locations.

Co-owner Thomas Boemer said it’s a tough time for restaurants in the Twin Cities.

“Every single cost that we have has drastically increased and is still increasing,” he said. “It hasn’t stopped. When you combine that with where we started a year ago with a massive labor shortage which pushed the labor cost and wage up exponentially. … It’s all going up and you’re racing to follow. I think there’s a fundamental shift and change in people’s dining habits because of it. Over the past few months or past year, it’s just insanely expensive to go out to dinner.”

It’s not all bad news downtown, though. The owners of the popular local chain Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteak are taking over the former Black Sheep space on Robert Street. Co-owner Shaz Khan said he knows his company is taking a risk opening their new concept, Prince Coal-Fired Pizza, in the struggling downtown area, but it’s a calculated one that he hopes pays off.

“We have a headquarters and real estate in St. Paul … and we have formed a lot of relationships there,” Khan said. “I look in the mirror and say who better to begin making a change than myself. We hope we can be that oomph that makes a change for the area.”

In response to an inquiry for this article, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office sent us the following via email:

“As we have worked through the normal cycle of businesses opening and closing, we’ve worked especially hard to improve the concerns around public safety … Within the last year, we’ve also celebrated 10 restaurants opening across Downtown, including Ruam Mit Thai, 1881 by Lake Elmo Inn, and soon Prince Coal-Fired Pizza. This work is tied to our efforts to revitalize downtown St. Paul. As development continues to increase Downtown, we will continue to prioritize the relationships we’ve built with business owners and community partners alike.”

Tim Niver, owner of Saint Dinette talks with a patron at his downtown St. Paul restaurant on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

As for Niver, he said that although he’s at peace with Saint Dinette’s closure, he does feel a little let down by city officials. Moves such as raising the minimum wage to $15 without a tip credit have made things more difficult for restaurant owners, and empty properties make coming downtown less appealing for those who don’t live there.

“They have hearings,” Niver said of city officials. “But they’re not listening.”

So what’s next for Niver and Paton?

Niver, who was recently named a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award for hospitality at his other St. Paul restaurant, Mucci’s, said he plans to take a little time “finding out what owning one restaurant is like.”

He said he has lots of ideas for future concepts, but is happy to take his time figuring out whether he wants to act on any of them.

And Paton, who has worked in restaurants her entire career, said she hasn’t decided where she’ll go next, or even if it will be in the hospitality industry.

“I know that I love being in this industry,” Paton said. “I’m not dying to get out, but I’d be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t think about it.”

Tim Niver, owner of Saint Dinette talks with Amy Daniels at his downtown St. Paul restaurant on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

For now, though, it’s all hands on deck as the crew at Saint Dinette works the dining room, still adding new menu items and taking care of every guest as if they were family.

They’ll maintain that level of culinary excellence and hospitality until the last day. Speaking of which, reservations, especially on weekends, are starting to become scarce. So if you want one more cheeseburger, you should book a table now.

Saint Dinette: 261 E. Fifth St., St. Paul; 651-800-1415; saintdinette.com

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