PERi-PERi chicken lovers, brace yourselves... some Nando’s restaurants have been forced to close due to delays in deliveries.
Staffing problems at suppliers’ factories have sparked stock shortages in certain restaurants, meaning there haven’t been enough of the famous flame-grilled dishes to go round.
However, the South African fast food chain is attempting to solve the issues by “lending” 70 members of its staff to suppliers’ factories to “get things moving again”.
It comes as the UK grapples with a shortage of 100,000 HGV lorry drivers. This has been amplified by the so-called “pingdemic” which saw drivers forced to self-isolate by the NHS app after coming into contact with positive Covid cases.
A Nando’s spokesperson told indy100: “Due to staff shortages, the UK food industry has been experiencing disruption across the supply chain and a number of our restaurants across England, Scotland and Wales have been impacted.
“From today, Nando’s will be lending some of our brilliant team members to support key suppliers and get things moving again. We hope this will have a positive impact on affected restaurants, so please bear with us as we do everything we can to get that PERi-PERi chicken back where it belongs – on your plates.
“We will still be open for Eat-in and Collect in the UK, just check your local restaurant page to make sure it’s open before you visit.”
Responding to upset customers on Twitter Nando’s described the situation as “a bit of a ‘mare’”.
In another tweet, the restaurant apologised for the “disappointment” and said suppliers could not keep up with “demand for peri-peri”.
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are apparently not affected by supply chain issues and are open across all channels.
How can I find out if my local Nando’s restaurant is closed?
The specific store closures are continuously changing based on the supplier deliveries so the most up to date information can be found on the local Nando’s restaurant webpages here.
It’s also worth noting that some stores which have not completely closed are running reduced hours because of the issues.
Elsewhere, customers have taken to Twitter to share their disappointment at finding out their local Nando’s is closed.
nandos is closed and i’m not ok 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/tM1ldd9vIs
— ana 🔪 (@anasophiamills) August 15, 2021
@NandosUK are all nandos closed been 4 times in two weeks and both ones closer fuming
— baggy (@_baggyaaron) August 16, 2021
Can’t believe we’ve been to both Nando’s in Enfield and they are both out food!!! Enfield Town Closed and Enfield retail park out of mains with only limited sides! #Nandos #NandosEnfield #Nandosoutofchicken
— Jen Cheung (@MudBean) August 12, 2021
@NandosUK EVERY time I try and order a Nandos🙃Just means I’ll stop trying🥵 pic.twitter.com/AEU32idT2L
— neebs (@domStanding) August 16, 2021
my nandos closed early today bc we have no chicken lmao same with loads in my area, and KFCs because we have the same supplier
— leah (@wannabecherub) August 15, 2021
Nando’s is not the first restaurant to be affected by food shortages, with KFC suffering a similar issue last week due to “disruption over the last few weeks.”
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
The fast food giant said it was working hard to keep things running smoothly but admitted some of its most popular items might be missing from menus.
All we can say is, this clearly isn’t a great time for chicken fans...
