‘Officially in crisis mode’: Miami Pollo Tropical restaurants ran out of black beans

Miami Armageddon was averted Friday when thousands if not millions of hungry Pollo Tropical customers were at long last able to order black beans again.

For two days, Pollo Tropical locations across Miami-Dade did not have black beans. They had the grilled chicken for which they are famous. They had roasted pork and yucca bites and Poyo Poyo sauce. But no beans.

They were not available in the restaurants. They were not available on food delivery apps. TropiChops went tragically bare, and not even two servings of cilantro garlic sauce could make up for the pain.

It was a true Miami crisis, and the hungry weighed in on Only in Dade’s Instagram account.

“This is a travesty,” one poster wrote. “When can we declare a state of emergency?”

“I can confirm,” another chimed in. “We are officially in crisis mode.” (This particular poster was deeply unhappy that the beans had been replaced with corn, a vastly inferior side dish, and honestly, who could blame her?)

Fortunately, the shortage was short-lived, a supply chain issue that has since been fixed, according to the brand. Apparently it’s important to remember that not even Miami magic like black beans are immune to the whims of logistic networks.

On Friday, Pollo Tropical issued a statement assuring its fans that all of their bean dreams would be met.

“Due to a temporary supply issue, some Pollo Tropical locations were not able to serve beans during portions of March 13th and 14th,” the statement said. “We are happy to report that we have remedied this supply issue and will be serving beans at all locations today. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Founded in Miami in 1988, Pollo Tropical has more than 150 locations across South Florida and the Caribbean.

This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 11:12 AM.