French fries are in short supply at some restaurants.
Flavio Coelho/Getty Images
- The famous cottage fries at beloved New York burger joint J.G. Melon have been hit by supply chain snags.
- The restaurant’s supplier has discontinued the product, another casualty in ongoing supply chain issues.
- Owner Jaine O’Neill said the restaurant is currently serving up a different fry shape.
The supply chain is devastating one of America’s beloved food staples: French fries.
As Bloomberg first reported, classic New York burger spot J.G. Melon — beloved by everyone from restaurateurs to Michael Bloomberg — took to Instagram to share the news of change hitting its menu.
“The rumors are true – due to a supply chain issue, we are temporarily not serving our legendary, cottage fries,” the restaurant wrote. The post has over 1,700 likes and over 100 comments. The restaurant’s two prior posts brought in around 400 likes each.
It’s another blow for New York’s foodies. Their bagels are already experiencing the squeeze of a cream cheese shortage, as Insider’s Bethany Biron reported. Now, Big Apple residents will have to cross J.G. Melon’s cottage fries off their Christmas lists for the time being.
Jaine O’Neill, the owner of J.G. Melon, told Insider that there’s been an “interesting response” to the restaurant’s fry shortage and that “a lot” of people have reached out. O’Neill told Bloomberg that the restaurant’s potato supplier, Lamb Weston, ended up discontinuing the cottage fries.
O’Neill told Insider that they discontinued it “for whatever reason,” but said that, with the “amazing response,” perhaps they might actually bring back the product. Lamb Weston did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. O’Neill did say that at least three or four enterprising fry-lovers had reached out to try and find a solution.
Fries have become another example of consumers around the world making due with less, as supply chain shortages still run rampant. In Japan, McDonald’s goers will only be able to order a size small in fries through December 30, the company said. That’s because flooding in North America and disruptions from the pandemic have disrupted potato imports. About 2,900 stores across Japan will feel the impact of the potato disruption, according to a press release.
Similarly, O’Neill said that J.G. Melon’s is serving a different type of the fry in the meantime. It’s a wedge, she said, which is roughly the shape of a fry that’s been folded over into a wedge. It also has little ridges, like the cottage fries. She said it’s the fry that customers seem to like best.
“Thank you for your support,” O’Neill said when asked for her message to fry lovers. “It’s been an interesting experience tasting all of these different fries. I’m just noticing different qualities to fries; it’s a real learning experience. Thank you to everybody, and everyone stay safe.”
