(Bloomberg) – Restaurants in Texas are throwing out expired food, supermarkets are closing early amid stock shortages and residents are struggling to meet basic needs as a cold explosion continues to affect supply chains.
At Tarka Indian Kitchen, a chain with eight locations in Texas, fresh vegetables and meats were discarded after being closed for days. The same is true for Coolgreens, which sells salads and sandwiches, while Milkshake Concepts had to throw out of stock due to a burst pipe. Similar stories are piling up during a period of historic cold that cut power and destroyed roads.
At a Whole Foods Market store in The Woodlands, Texas, two women were overheard exchanging tips on where to find a gallon of milk, while someone else asked a store employee about buying their entire supply of bottled water.
The situation is so dire in Houston, a big city for eating out, that some people have a current list of restaurants that are open and have food supplies. At the end of Thursday, a survey of restaurants in the area showed that several were out of food, closed unexpectedly or only available for large group orders. As a result, people complained about the difficulties of using UberEats and DoorDash.
Tarka CEO Tinku Saini said by email that the problems go beyond the expired food. “We made the transition to overcome water challenges – warnings of access to water, low water pressure and boiling water in some areas. So, we are overcoming obstacles with suppliers, as they determine the safest way to deliver our products. “
The challenges are further limiting residents’ access to food, as supermarket shelves remain empty in many areas. Supermarket chains like Kroger Co. have implemented buying limits for items like eggs and milk, while HEB Grocery Co. said the weather is causing “serious disruptions to the food supply chain”.
A Kroger store in West Houston was out of bread, milk, cheese, chicken, hot food and bottled water on Friday afternoon, after having fully stocked its shelves in the morning. Shoppers lined up at the store starting at 4 am, officials said.
Julia Dominguez, a social worker at Baylor College of Medicine, was relieved to get some snacks, paper plates and napkins, after days without being able to get into supermarkets due to lines.
“In the past few days, I drove looking for hot food because I didn’t have the power and water for 72 hours,” said the 65-year-old man outside the store. “But I had shelter, so I’m not a complainer.”
Some chains that managed to remain open closed before sunset so that shelves could be refilled during the night. Hard-to-find items in the Houston area include meat, bread, cold cuts, frozen pizzas and milk. A visit to a HEB store in the northern suburbs of the city on Thursday afternoon found the agricultural products section with little more than a few bags of oranges.
“Getting food and gasoline has been difficult,” said Lyndsey McDonald Garza, who lives in League City, a suburb of Houston, and owns a real estate broker in Galveston. “Supermarkets are either not open or only open for a short period of time. We have been to the convenience store because it is the only option. “
Target Corp. closed three stores in Texas and was replenishing food and water in stores that are still open. The Whole Foods Market chain of Amazon.com Inc. is working to “reopen all stores in the next few days,” said a spokesman by email.
Read more: Texas water cuts affect 14.4 million people: energy upgrade
Suppliers have also suffered problems. Chicken producer Sanderson Farms Inc. activated an emergency plan and suspended operations at processing plants in Texas, Mississippi and Hammond, Louisiana earlier this week. Still, the company lost power in up to 200 of its 1,918 poultry farms in Texas on Tuesday. The storm also affected egg deliveries to state hatcheries.
In fact, there is hope that operations will return to normal soon, as services return to work and temperatures rise. The Texas Electric Reliability Council, which manages the state’s power grid, said normal operations resumed on Friday.
Related: Gas stations still dark as Texas comes out of freeze
Even so, many restaurants, which have already suffered a nightmare of stoppages caused by the pandemic, face obstacles to reopen. Some companies are trying to adapt in the meantime.
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, which has 142 locations in Texas, said it may take a week or two before it returns to normal hours and full menus, although operations are resuming in most of its restaurants. The company changed its menu and goes directly to suppliers when possible to search for food.
On Monday, as the lights flickered at their original 80-year-old location in Dallas, the team began feeding first aid instead of letting it expire.
“With the understanding that our food is not good for anyone if it is spoiled and these heroes need it most, I encourage anyone who is able to do the same,” said Dickey CEO Laura Rea Dickey.
(Adds details of the seventh paragraph Kroger and Sanderson Farms)
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