Bread and other victuals remained in short supply from corner delis to major supermarkets yesterday — trying tempers and forcing chefs to be creative.
The culprit wasn’t so much supply as actually getting delivery trucks to move through gridlocked traffic, which in places was more rigid than a 2-year-old bagel.
“Getting out of The Bronx from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. this afternoon was just a nightmare,” said Ed Feron, director of operations for The Chef’s Warehouse in The Bronx, which supplies supermarkets and restaurants.
He sent 40 trucks into Manhattan and Brooklyn to make 250 deliveries and expects 60 trucks today.
“We are worried about tomorrow, with more and more people getting back on the roads,” he said.
Anthony Dell’Orto, owner of Manganaro’s Hero Boy on Ninth Avenue, has been doing nearly twice his usual business being just a block away from the blacked-out area.
“I am getting a delivery tomorrow from US Foods. I hope it’s enough to get me to Monday or Tuesday,” he said. “Bread is going to be a problem. There are very few bakeries left in Manhattan. During 9/11 we sold [cold cuts] on a plate. We did what we had to do. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
In addition to bread, fresh meat like ground beef and chicken is in short supply, restaurant owners and suppliers said. Hotels and supermarkets are demanding bottled water.
“They are just sending us what is in their warehouses. Probably as the weekend approaches they are going to dry up. I’m sure the fishing industry is at a standstill,” said George Contantinou, owner of Bogota Bistro in Brooklyn.
Lines — much longer than usual — snaked through the Upper West Side’s Trader Joe’s.
“Oh my God — you would have thought the store was closing for good, there were so many people,” said Danielle Atkison, 23. “They were turning people away at the door. They had to reconfigure the entire checkout line.”
The Whole Foods stores still operating above 40th Street were also fighting the traffic to keep the shelves the full from their own warehouse in Cheshire, Conn.
“It is certainly affecting us and the amount of time it takes to get things to stores. Fortunately, our Upper West Side location received a trailer this morning,” said spokesman Michael Sinatra.
“Our selection may be less varied than we are used to being. Fresh produce mostly is what is difficult, and things like seafood. Some of our local seafood comes from the Jersey Shore.”
Batteries, especially flashlight-friendly C and D sizes, were also rare.
“You can probably trade in your Rolex for four D batteries. They flew off the shelves,” said Mitch Klein, a vice president with Krasdale Foods, which supplies about 1,200 bodegas and 220 supermarkets.
But, he said, batteries should be appearing back on shelves by the end of the week because suppliers had been stocking up in anticipation of Christmas.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Gould Keil and Beth DeFalco