Beloved fast food chain Wendy’s is one of the restaurant chains around the country that has been affected by meat shortages due to COVID-19.
Slaughterhouses and meat processing plants all over the country have shut down because of coronavirus. Yahoo Finance reports that “a dozen slaughterhouses shut last month because of infections among employees jammed together on processing lines.”
Because of this, people have been worried that beef, chicken, and pork will stop being sold at grocery stores and restaurants. Wendy’s has seemingly admitted that this is the new reality, as some of their locations have taken all beef options off their menu, however chicken and sides are still plentiful.
Yahoo Finance also reports that the Wendy’s app only shows chicken items and side available for takeout or delivery in most California locations.
A tweet from a drive-thru customer showed a hand-written sign saying, “We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience, we are experiencing issues with out meat processing supplier and are unable to serve beef products. We are happy to serve chicken and side items.”
@Wendys is this the part where I say…”Where’s the beef?”#toosoon pic.twitter.com/cQwUz7uPTR
— Amber Olivas (@amberlyno) May 4, 2020
The reason for the beef shortage may be because Wendy’s only offers “fresh, never frozen” beef patties.
James Rutherford, an analyst told CNBC that “online menus for every Wendy’s location nationwide revealed that 1,043 restaurants have listed beef items as out of stock.”
This number comes out to one in every five stores not serving beef products.
Wendy’s spokeswoman Heidi Schauer said in a statement to CNBC, “It is widely known that beef suppliers across North America are currently facing production challenges. We continue to supply hamburgers to all of our restaurants, with deliveries two or three times a week, which is consistent with normal delivery schedules. However, some of our menu items may be temporarily limited at some restaurants in this current environment.”
“Where’s the beef?” Some burgers have been taken off the menu at this @Wendys in Burbank, because of the nationwide meat shortage. @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/3MYXQ3HcwP
— Tina Patel (@tina_patel) May 5, 2020
Check out the TODAY Show’s coverage on the meat shortage, just over two weeks ago, in the video below.