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The-Southland-Times
Both KFC Invercargill South stores, pictured, and KFC Invercargill Dee St stores have been unable to open due to unprecedented demand for chicken.
An ‘unprecedented lawsuit’ has caused Invercargill’s two KFC stores to be unable to open and serve chicken.
Residents will now have to wait two days before being able to search the Colonel’s cube again, as KFC Invercargill South and KFC Invercargill Dee St were not expected to reopen until 10 a.m. on Saturday.
A KFC spokesperson said, “We were unable to open our two Invercargill stores today due to unprecedented demand for our chicken.”
“We are planning to safely open these two stores on Saturday at 1pm,” the spokesperson said.
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KFC stores began reopening across the country in a “phased approach” on Tuesday after a month-long hiatus due to restrictions from the government’s Covid-19 alert level four.
Invercargill stores planned to open Thursday, but that could not happen.
Under Alert Level Three, takeout stores could operate with contactless services.
Last week, KFC Restaurant Brands Group CEO Russel Creedy said, “We appreciate that there is high demand when we reopen delivery and drive, but first I must have complete confidence in the well-being of our staff and our customers.”
“Having this phased approach gives us time to make sure, store by store, that we have the operational guidelines and controls in place to exceed both government requirements and our customers’ expectations,” Creedy said.
Other fast food outlets have also struggled to cope with demand as closure restrictions have eased.
Several McDonald stores have reportedly been unable to supply lettuce.
In Christchurch, the city council had to involve traffic management at two McDonald’s restaurants on Tuesday due to the lawsuit.
McDonald’s spokesman Simon Kenny said Tuesday was one of his busiest days in New Zealand in more than 40 years.
“We had a week to work with suppliers and our distribution partner to recondition and stock up for restaurants to open under Alert Level Three. For some restaurants, busy opening has meant shortages on certain items.
“Lettuce is an example, where there is a 20-week lead time, and the consequence of the blockage and initial customer demand means that some restaurants may be temporarily out of stock.”
