A black coffee and chocolate frosted donut are arranged for a photograph inside a Dunkin' location in Mount Washington, Kentucky, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. is scheduled to release earnings figures on Feb. 6. Photogra …
OMAHA, Neb. - Dunkin' is running low on doughnuts at some of its U.S. locations due to a temporary supply shortage. Stores, at least across Nebraska, New Mexico and some other states — don't have the breakfast staple on their shelves.
Dunkin' faces doughnut shortage
Some Dunkin' stores are facing a shortage of doughnuts.
Some employees chalked it up to a supply chain issue and others said simply that delivery trucks had been arriving without the cargo that the chain is most famous for.
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Dunkin' stores in Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island in Nebraska all had no doughnuts in their cases Thursday and Friday and put up signs on their doors and drive-thru kiosks informing customers that the pastries were unavailable "due to a manufacturing error." Some locations did offer "Munchkins," or doughnut holes, on Friday.
Doughnut shortage due to supply issue
What they're saying:
Jack D’Amato, a spokesperson for Inspire Brands, said there was an issue with doughnuts from a single supplier that impacted stores in Nebraska and some other states, although he did not name the other states.
About 4% of Dunkin’s U.S. stores were impacted, he said.
D’Amato said the company was still looking into what the issue was and exactly how many stores were affected.
Phone and email messages to Bryce Bares, who owns several Dunkin' franchises in Nebraska, were not immediately returned.
Bares told the Omaha World-Herald that some Dunkin’ stores received products from suppliers that were not up to standard and that he would not serve them to customers. He told the newspaper that the supply partners had corrected the problem and that his Nebraska locations should be offering doughnuts again soon.
Local perspective:
Tyler Raikar, of Omaha, stopped by a Dunkin' in west Omaha early Friday after an overnight shift as a phlebotomist, seeking coffee and a chocolate cake doughnut.
"What? No doughnuts!" she exclaimed when told the location had none. "That's tragic!"
The trip wasn't a total loss, she said, as she was more interested in the coffee. Still, she was a little disappointed that she couldn't get a doughnut.
"Hopefully they have them soon," she said.
Locals react to doughnut shortage
What's next:
D’Amato said the company has already begun restocking some affected stores.
Employees said they hoped stocks would be replenished by next week.
The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this report. The information in this story also came from various sources, including statements from Dunkin' customers and employees in Nebraska and New Mexico, a manager at a west Omaha Dunkin' location, and Jack D’Amato, a spokesperson for Inspire Brands. This story was reported from Los Angeles.