Olivera Egg Ranch in San Jose closing for good at the end of March

Olivera Egg Ranch closing for good 

SAN JOSE, Calif. - After more than 75 years, a family-operated egg ranch is closing its doors in San Jose. The Olivera Egg Ranch will close for good next month and staff members say the ranch will be sold, making room for new homes to be built.

Some customers said they had no idea that Olivera would be closing soon. They talked about rising prices and where they’ll go now to buy eggs.

"Today we came because we went to Costco, and we didn’t find anything," said Jose Quintero of San Jose. 

What they're saying:

As of last week, the average cost of a dozen eggs was $8.07 and even at that price, finding them in stores is getting harder by the day. 

On Sunday, longtime customers of Olivera Egg Ranch said they were saddened to hear it’s closing for good next month.

"We used to come here all the time. That was back in 1996… with the egg shortage, it’s a shame," said John Westmoreland, of San Jose. 

Staff members at Olivera said the egg ranch will close in the last week of March, but it comes at a time when the price of eggs has skyrocketed due in part to an avian or bird flu outbreak. Olivera said it hasn’t been affected by the recent outbreak or rising prices. 

Still, large retail stores are running low on eggs, sending customers scrambling to find them.

"I mainly shop at Costco, but even then, they run out of eggs there, and you have to resort to going anywhere you can find any," said Alfredo Gomez, of San Jose.  

"Oh my God, the eggs are expensive, huh? Too much. What can I do?" said Dinah Dumapay, of Milpitas. 

"The last time we were at Costco, there was a shortage, but I think this place is very special in that they have balut, and it’s really fresh compared to even the Asian groceries," said Lam Lu, of San Jose.   

The backstory:

The Olivera Egg Ranch has been serving San Jose since 1949 and was a family-owned and operated business. Now the family is selling the nearly 3-acre parcel located on Sierra Road. 

Last week, Robson Homes filed a public review draft with the city of San Jose to build 25 single-family units on the property. 

One customer says now that the Olivera is closing, he may consider producing his own eggs.

"I did have chickens. I had about a dozen hens and a rooster for many years, but that got to be too much trouble. So, I don’t know, I might go back to doing that. I mean, if it’s costing this much money," said Westmoreland.

The USDA says the demand for eggs continues to increase and major retailers across the country are now limiting the number of eggs people can buy at one time.