US Foods, a national distributor for restaurants and other foodservice providers, is pausing delivery for several weeks to some customers in southwestern Pennsylvania.
A company spokesperson told News Radio KDKA it's because of driver and warehouse staff shortages at their Greensburg facility.
The spokesperson said in a statement US Foods is working to mitigate the staffing shortage through hiring initiatives and other efforts.
"Despite these actions, labor challenges in our Greensburg facility have resulted in some service disruptions, and in some cases, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily pause deliveries for several weeks for a limited number of customers in the area as we manage through labor constraints," the statement read.
It's unclear exactly how many local customers have been impacted, but US Foods says most of them are restaurants.
Ron Sofranko, who owns Wexford-based hospitality consulting company Sofranko Advisory Group, works with dozens of local restaurants.
He says five to ten restaurants on his roster have been impacted by the delay, and most of them are small, independently owned businesses who get deliveries smaller than 25 cases.
"It's just another issue they have to deal with," he said. "Frankly, if a small, independent can't get a delivery, they can't open their doors. From that standpoint, they have to find other resources for their food product, limit their menu, perhaps take some items off the menu or just try to find their product at other locations."
US Foods says they expect the pause to be temporary and are working with customers.