Nando’s forced to close restaurants due to chicken shortages

Nando’s have become the latest victim in the national shortage of HGV drivers as the firm announce they are running low on chicken.

The chain had to close around 50 restaurants temporarily after running low on their staple dish: peri peri chicken.

Both Aberdeen and Inverness outlets are not currently accepting Deliveroo orders while Nando’s insist they are “working hard to get things back up and running”.

The chain say the lack of chicken is due to staff shortages and “disruption across the supply chain”.

The restaurant firm is the latest in what is being described as a “pingdemic” as staff are being forced to isolate as a contact of someone with coronavirus.

A national shortage of lorry drivers are also affecting food and other supply chains across the UK as they struggle to operate as normal.

But Nando’s say that they are working hard to resolve the problem and expect every restaurant to be re-opened by Saturday – fully stocked with their cult favourite peri peri chicken.

After a spate of milk rationing in the Western Isles, the Co-op also confirmed it had been affected due to the “sporadic disruption from the industry-wide shortage of HGV drivers” and “an increase in colleagues self-isolating on a precautionary basis”.

Customers in South Uist were told they could only purchase one bottle of milk per visit as a result.

Pubs in Scotland have also been affected by the reduced deliveries with fears that some bars could run out of stock during the busy return to normality.

The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) has reported issues facing suppliers Greene King, which owns Belhaven, and Heineken.

Gavin Stevenson, owner of the Mor-Rioghain Group which owns Gellions and Monty’s in Inverness and the Mains of Scotstown in Aberdeen, had a major order cancelled.

He told the Daily Mail: “I got a call from Heineken on Thursday at 4pm saying there would be zero deliveries on Friday, and they weren’t able to reschedule.

‘That’s just one brewer, but the supply chains across Scotland are absolutely crumbling. It will mean that there are products out of stock this weekend.”

He said that his staff travelled more than 100 miles to pick up stock to ensure he could stay open following months of restricted operations.

He added: “The first two weeks back that we actually have a chance of breaking even or making a profit or repaying some of the debt we’ve incurred, the brewery are not doing what they need to do to ensure the survival of the sector. It’s frankly disgraceful.

The Colonel has just emerged from a long day at the fryers and wanted to share the following message. pic.twitter.com/XuHtQNWe8M

— KFC UK (@KFC_UKI) August 11, 2021

“A pub without beer is like a petrol station without petrol.

“There are businesses which will go bankrupt this week and next because of this distribution chaos.”

Last week, chicken lovers were once again disappointed after fast food rival KFC warned customers that they were missing menu items.

The firm put it down to “disruption” across the country and thanked loyal customers for their understanding.

A Nando’s spokeswoman said: “The UK food industry has been experiencing disruption across its supply chain in recent weeks due to staff shortages and a number of our restaurants have been impacted.

“However, since Monday, a team of our brilliant Nandocas have been supporting our key suppliers onsite – working in partnership to help get things moving again, and this has already had a positive impact on affected restaurants.

“From this Saturday, as a result of the hard work behind the scenes, it is our intention that all of our restaurants will be open again, and all our customers can enjoy their favourite peri peri chicken.”