First a chicken panic, now KFC facing U.K. gravy shortage

Kim Hjelmgaard | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption First a chicken crisis, now KFC is running out of gravy Attention KFC lovers, the fried chicken crisis is not over! The famous chain is now apologizing for running out of another key ingredient, their gravy in the UK.

LONDON — Why did the British chicken cross the road? Because first, KFC ran out of the birds, and now, the fast food chain is facing another bad joke: a gravy shortage.

After a chicken-supply crisis here last week, KFC outlets in the United Kingdom are suffering a sauce snafu, the firm said late Wednesday.

"We're working as hard as we can to get this sorted out. We know that our gravy is a big favorite!," the Yum! Brands-operated firm said in a statement.

The gravy shortage, like the chicken one, is being blamed on "teething" problems after KFC started using a new distribution company — DHL. DHL, in turn, pointed to "operational issues" at one of its warehouses used for nationwide deliveries.

Hundreds of KFC outlets in the U.K. temporarily closed their doors last week. The majority of its 900 outlets in the U.K. and Ireland have since reopened.

But such was its embarrassment over the affair that KFC took out an ad in a newspaper that said: "WE'RE SORRY. A chicken restaurant without any chicken. It's not ideal ... Thank you for bearing with us." The text appeared alongside a photo of a chicken bucket with the KFC logo letters jumbled to read "FCK."

More: KFC offers mea culpa for UK chicken shortage with epic (and witty) apology ad