(NEXSTAR) – Regular customers at In-N-Out may have noticed something missing from the offerings at their favorite burger joint, and it’s leaving some customers fired up — or rather, not-so-fired-up.
“We apologize for any disappointment, but unfortunately there is a widespread shortage of the whole cascabella chilies that we traditionally offer,” a representative for In-N-Out confirmed in an emailed statement to Nexstar. “In the meantime, we have hot banana pepper rings available as a substitution.”
In-N-Out did not specify the reason for the shortage, but reports centered around a similar issue in 2016 and 2017 suggested a less-than-average crop yield, Munchies reported at the time.
The little yellow-green peppers, a beloved condiment among spice-loving In-N-Out fans, have been out of stock for “a couple of months now,” according to SFGATE, which broke news of the chain's efforts to replenish the peppers in an article published earlier this week.
Indeed, a Reddit user who claimed to be employed at In-N-Out had warned of the pepper shortage in mid-December, alleging that restaurants were only serving what was left of their “stockpiles" at the time.
Others likened the current shortage to that of the 2016/2017 shortage, when the peppers were scarce (and even rationed) amid what In-N-Out called an “industry-wide” crop shortage, Foodbeast reported at the time.
“My [store manager] was talking about the 2017 shortage and [said] that people were going crazy,” one Reddit user claimed, after earlier writing that customers were generally pretty understanding in recent months.
“Maybe people now are used to shortages because of the pandemic and they aren't caring too much.”
In any case, In-N-Out has likely fielded at least a few complaints from heated customers, some of whom took to Twitter to lament the lack of their preferred peppers.
“We appreciate our Customers’ concern," In-N-Out’s representative said, "and we hope to have our standard cascabella chilies available again in the spring."
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