KFC Stores In The U.K. Close After Acute Chicken Shortage

KFC took to Twitter earlier this week to reassure its customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland that stores would be reopening after the company faced a chicken shortage in the region a few weeks ago.

The fast-food restaurant chain announced on Feb. 17 that it has a new delivery partner, but the partner had run into trouble while trying to deliver fresh chicken to the U.K. restaurants. KFC decided to close some of its restaurants for a bit so it wouldn’t have to compromise on quality, the company said. Others had limited menus or hours.

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KFC later set up a page on its website to show when each U.K. restaurant reopened properly. By Feb. 20, over half its restaurants were up and running again.

“Good news, over half of our restaurants are now back open!” KFC’s U.K. and Ireland Twitter account posted. “Our teams are working flat out to open the rest. Equilibrium will soon be restored.”

The chain later began posting updates on the status of its restaurants and chicken deliveries on Twitter. KFC addressed the issue of the chicken stuck in transit, saying that while it couldn’t be used in restaurants, there were alternate options.

“Because our chicken is fresh, inevitably some may go to waste,” the company said. “And we hate that. Donating to local charities is one option, and we’re looking at many others.”

KFC also confirmed that no employees would lose out financially while the chicken deliveries were being sorted out and restaurants were closed.

As of Feb. 26, over 95% of the U.K. and Ireland restaurants were open, though a number of menu options and ingredients were still missing.

“We’re on it,” KFC said. “Please bear with us. The biggest truck of lettuce is on its way today — hoping for a green sweep of the nation.”