Pretty much every business has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and fast food restaurants are no exception. If you've hit up the Wendy's drive-thru lately, you may have seen a sign that told you they were out of beef. Of course, a restaurant that is famous for its hamburgers is going to take a serious hit if they can't get beef, but there are still plenty of other menu items that you can order until this is taken care of. Let's take a look at the real reason why Wendy's is pulling hamburgers from the menu for the time being.
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00:00What's your go-to order from Wendy's? Besides a Frosty, of course. A Dave's Double, a Baconator,
00:05a Bacon Jalapeno Cheeseburger? Maybe you get a Wendy's staple, a bowl of chili on the
00:10side. Sure, you might opt for a spicy chicken sandwich, but if what you were really in the
00:13mood for was chicken, you'd probably be sitting in the drive-thru line at Chick-fil-A or Popeyes
00:17instead. And nobody really wants a fast food salad.
00:20Wendy's is a hamburger joint, first and foremost, which is why people have been so surprised
00:24to see signs warning that no burgers or chili are available. In the words of Wendy's most
00:28famous pitch woman,
00:29Where's the beef? Hey, where's the beef?"
00:33The answer has to do with the meat supply pipeline experiencing some serious complications
00:37due to COVID-19. Bloomberg reports that, while there is still an ample supply of meat in
00:41cold storage, the fresh meat supply may be getting critically low as several major North
00:45American meat processing plants have been shut down by the pandemic.
00:48Conditions on crowded processing lines have been particularly conducive to the spread
00:52of the virus, and hundreds of meat plant workers have been infected. And there have been additional
00:55complications along the supply chain with meat producers who once supplied restaurants
00:59trying to shift more of their output to supermarkets, just as much of the meat supply had been diverted
01:03from the restaurant industry toward grocers.
01:05The possible reopening of full-service restaurants has led to supply chain confusion that is
01:09affecting the meat supply, not only at restaurants, but also at retailers. Costco has even recently
01:14been forced to implement limits on the amount of meat members are allowed to purchase.
01:18The shortage is a particular hit for Wendy's, which has always made a point of only using
01:22fresh, never-frozen beef.
01:23Any fast food chain that uses fresh beef is going to have short-term challenges making
01:30sure it has enough."
01:32And it's coming at a bad time for the chain. Restaurant Business reports that Wendy's largest
01:35franchise holder, NPC International, has been considering a restructuring that might lead
01:40to a bankruptcy filing. While this would not affect all Wendy's locations, it still might
01:43come as a major blow to the brand. And while the beef shortage hasn't touched all of Wendy's
01:48restaurants, CNN Business reports that some 18 percent of Wendy's 5,500 restaurants nationwide
01:52currently have no beef to sell, citing locations in Ohio, Michigan, and New York. Time adds
01:57that at least some of the chain's California locations are also without beef for the time
02:01being.
02:02Since, at this point, no one can predict when the meatpacking industry will be back to business
02:05as usual, it may be some time before you can get a complete biggie bag again.
02:09So, what can you still get at Wendy's? If you wake up early enough to get to the drive-thru
02:15while they're still serving breakfast, most of those items should be on the menu, since
02:19none contain beef. If you just can't live without a Baconator, you may still be able
02:22to get one, the Breakfast Baconator, made with a sausage patty instead of a beef burger.
02:27If you're having Wendy's for lunch or dinner, your choices may be more limited. Salads are
02:30still an option, except for the taco salad, which includes beef. You can still get baked
02:34potatoes and fries, even cheese and bacon-topped. The chili cheese varieties, however, are likely
02:39not an option.
02:40Chicken, of course, is still available, in the form of Wendy's sandwiches and nuggets.
02:43Your mileage may vary on those, though. What Wendy's does not offer at this point, at least
02:47in the U.S., is a plant-based burger. It did introduce its plantiful patty to the Canadian
02:51market in February, according to the Vancouver Courier, but it's not yet on the stateside
02:55menu.
02:56Of course, there's always dessert. While the cookies don't ever look too inspiring, the
03:00Frosty Cookie Sundae has promise. And then, of course, there's the best fast food dessert
03:03you can get, Wendy's justifiably famous Frosty. In fact, if you order some fries and dip them
03:08in your Frosty, you can consider that a meal in itself. We won't judge you.