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Restaurant publication warns of massive chicken wing shortage

Get Saucy with Applebee’s® This National Chicken Wing Day
Posted at 6:56 AM, May 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-12 06:56:56-04

It's getting hard to track all of the things in short supply as we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. Lumber, furniture, computer chips, and now, chicken wings.

Yes. Suddenly, wings are now in short supply.

"The chicken producers are having problems opening up their production lines," restaurant owner Jason Esterkamp said.

He added that the same labor shortage hitting restaurants is hitting chicken processing plants.

“So just like the rest of us are having trouble finding employees, this is where it’s really coming from," he added. "They don't have the workforce to open all their lines."

Moreover, chicken wings are more popular than ever, so you have the latest pandemic shortage.

"All I can tell you is that wings are hard to come by, and they are extremely expensive."

Why is there a shortage of chicken wings but not chicken breasts?

Your average restaurant may sell several hundred chicken breasts per week, but in that same week they may sell thousands of chicken wings.

Grocery shoppers will see good news in that there's shortage of chicken breasts, but trade publication Restaurant Business warns that a massive chicken wing shortage is brewing.

Some restaurants are limited take-out orders, while Bojangles recently tweeted that their wings will be back soon.