Some restaurant owners said that they have had to reduce their menu offerings
Today’s post is by Gayl Southard, Vice President of Administration at SafeSourcing Inc.
On October 8th, restaurant owner Mike Baum, waited six hours in line at the Sysco warehouse in Tolleson, AZ to pick up food for his restaurant, only to leave empty handed. He was able to secure an order the following week after waiting four hours. Baum and several local restaurant owners report challenges in obtaining supplies not only from Sysco, but other distributors as well. Braun reported he can’t get corn on the cob although it is available from Kansas. There are no trucks to transport it to Arizona. Braun was told the lack of labor; truck drivers and warehouse workers are the cause of the supply chain delays. Sysco is one of the largest food and kitchenware suppliers in the country. Shannon Mutschler, a spokesperson for Sysco made the following statement to the Arizona Republic Newspaper: “Sysco regrets that we have had to delay or pause service for a limited number of customers in various locations. This is mainly due to unprecedented labor shortages in the industry. We are aggressively recruiting delivery partners and warehouse associates, and our goal is to restore service to our impacted customers as soon as possible.”
Some restaurant owners said that they have had to reduce their menu offerings due to lack of product. Julia Chugerman, owner of Verdura restaurant in Phoenix works with US Food, as well as a local supplier. One of the more popular menu items her restaurant relies on oyster mushrooms. The mushrooms have been difficult to source. Other vegetables, such as Brussel sprouts arrive moldy, or they aren’t in stock. She has been substituting broccoli for Brussel sprouts.
Sysco isn’t the only distributor that restaurant owners are having difficulty getting products. Some days it’s the liquor distributors and some days it’s trying to source straws and other paper products. It is difficult for the customers that frequent restaurants to understand how frustrating this is on the restaurant owners and their staff.
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References:
Pricilla Totlyapungprasert, WSJ, 10/16/2021
