When egg prices soared, restaurant owner Tina Yake and nearby farmer Jeremy Fyler took matters into their own hands—literally!
These two Heartland Regional Food Business Center clients from the greater Kansas City region teamed up to raise chickens for Yake’s Overland Park, KS, restaurant The Wooden Spoon. Together they are ensuring a steady, local supply of eggs while keeping costs in check.
The innovative farm-to-restaurant partnership was featured on NBC 41 and CBS 5, alongside U.S. Representative Sharice Davids.
Ingredient Innovation
Yake said she is tired of her Wooden Spoon restaurant being “held hostage” by rising egg prices. Bird flu scarcity has pushed the cost in recent months from $38 to $250 a case.
That egg price spike is a financial challenge for the restaurant’s two locations and its bakery business, The Perfect Crumb.
Yake is now partnering with Fyler Farm, 50 miles away near Kingsville, MO, to raise more chickens and produce eggs for the restaurant.
It’s an investment in sustainability for both, said Heartland Center business counselor Jenny Doty of K-State Research and Extension.
Yake explains the magnitude of the arrangement for the small businesses: “Just for our two locations I need a minimum of 350 chickens to lay what we need,” said Yake.
She estimates that working with Fyler Farms will bring Wooden Spoon egg costs down to $30 per case.