Eggs are the new hot potato, at least politically, with presidential candidates jousting over rising prices in last autumn’s election and skyrocketing costs since the start of 2025.
According to the USDA, the price of a dozen eggs has risen more than 38 percent – or $2.22 a since the start of 2025, thanks in part to an outbreak of avian flu. While some places have seen a dozen eggs costing more than $8, estimates say that could edge close to $10 in the coming year.
That might not be terrible news for Baskin-Robbins, where most flavors don’t include eggs, but it is an issue for frozen custard stands here in Milwaukee, the frozen custard capital of the world.
That’s because in order to call your ice cream frozen custard, regulations say it must have at least 1.4 percent egg yolk solids by weight. The eggs are what make custard so creamy, smooth and rich.
“Custard prices have been going up for a year,” says Scott Borkin, general manager at Kopp’s Frozen Custard in Glendale. “They are up 87 cents a gallon since last January.
“I’m sure (eggs are) a good portion of the reason prices have gone up.”
Peter Liapis, who owns the Georgie Porgie stands in Oak Creek and Mount Pleasant with his brother Lou, says their custard mix has risen by about 3 percent in recent months.
“We’ve noticed a slight increase in the cost of custard mix recently,” he says. “It’s not a huge leap, but we’ve seen it bump up.”
So far, however, customers have not seen that reflected in their cones, cups and sundaes.
“We’ve been holding steady with our prices for over two years now,” Liapis says, “and we’re pretty proud of the great affordable price point we offer our customers.
“Being a customer-focused business, we’re doing our best to absorb the increases for as long as we can, but if these prices keep creeping up, we might have to tweak things a little down the road. But we would love to keep kicking that ‘up-price can’ down the road and avoid it altogether.”
Kopp’s also has not raised prices so far, but that, too, could change.
“As of this moment we do not plan on raising prices,” Borkin says. “Looking forward, it’s a very volatile situation. If one hen gets the bird flu the entire henhouse has to be destroyed, decontaminated and then start over again.
“So this (high) cost of eggs is not going to be ending anytime soon and be prepared for the prices to continue going up. I’m pretty sure we will have to eventually raise our custard prices. At this moment we will remain the same, but it’s not guaranteed.”
Dairyland Old-Fashioned Frozen Custard & Hamburgers in the 3rd Street Market Hall is a different breed of custard stand, one of the only ones I’ve encountered that makes its own mix.
That, however, has not made it immune to rising egg prices, says co-owner Kurt Fogle.
“I can’t speak to custard mix since we don’t use it,” he says, “I can tell you that the price of eggs is affecting our bottom line. Eggs are through the roof but we average around 2 percent of egg yolk in our mix.
“I don’t believe it warrants a price hike on the retail level, but I’m not sure my accountant would agree.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
