KFC Customers Get Their Chicken Back, With a Catch

Winner winner chicken dinner? Sure, but likely without the gravy. That's the conundrum KFC is facing in the UK, where feathers were ruffled earlier this month when the fast-food chain had delivery issues that resulted in a chicken shortage and mass restaurant closings. Now, even though all but about 3% of the 900 KFC locations in England and Ireland have since reopened, the BBC reports that delivery issues remain, meaning many sites are serving a "reduced menu." Gravy is one of the items that has temporarily vanished. "We're working as hard as we can to get this sorted out," a KFC spokesperson tells the Independent. "We know that our gravy is a big favorite!" That rep notes KFC's gravy grief is from "ongoing distribution challenges" with new delivery vendor DHL.

The Sun reports that suppliers have since been told to circumvent DHL's logistics warehouse and send their goods straight to individual branches. KFC put out an ad last week apologizing for the inconvenience to its customers, with its mea culpa appearing next to a photo of one of its chicken buckets that was labeled "FCK" instead of "KFC," USA Today reports. Bloomberg takes a closer look at this "supply chain breakdown," but most customers don't want an in-depth take—they just want their comfort food back. "Well that is the end of the world. Gravy the only reason i go to kfc," one patron lamented on Twitter. (Brits expressed great displeasure at the KFC closings.)