# You're a restaurant! How did you run out of THAT?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065 "2007-06-07T00:27:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/121 "2007-06-09T21:48:55Z")
Went to a (minor league) ballgame last night. They ran out of… hot dogs peanuts root beer There isn’t a smiley to show the exasparation I felt when I had to go BACK to our seats and inform my son that I had NONE of the items that he wanted. YEESH! ---
**Author:** ![illoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a3d4f5/32.png) [@illoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/illoe)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/122 "2007-06-10T01:18:25Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I was in this cheese shop once and I swear this guy didn’t have any of the cheese I asked for. [/QUOTE] They didn’t even have Venezuelan Beaver Cheese? Not much of a cheese shop, was it? ETA: Oh heck, I missed the whole second page of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/123 "2007-06-10T04:34:23Z")
Cracker Barrel 800am, out of biscuits, wtf? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/124 "2007-06-10T05:08:17Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] There’s an awesome This American Life story about a Subway sandwich place in Seattle… [/QUOTE] [Quizno’s, actually.](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002170453_quiznos04.html) ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/125 "2007-06-10T06:14:41Z")
There’s a chain of pie shops (that’s meat pies) in Australia called Jester’s. The one near me has a big advertisement ‘coffee and a William Tell: $5’. I ask the counter guy, who I’ve talked to a number of times and who had worked there for some time, what the scoop on the ‘William Tell’ is; he tells me, ‘Yeah, we don’t actually have those. In fact I’m not even sure exactly what it is. Some kind of dessert maybe.’ ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/126 "2007-06-11T06:18:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **C3:** > One time, though, my husband went in at about 7 pm on a Saturday night. He ordered a four-piece or something like that. They loaded him up with chicken…filled up a bucket and a couple boxes with everything they had and told him it was free. They told him they were getting close to closing time (not really…I think they closed at 9 or 10) and they were just trying to get rid of the extra. Ooooookay…solved that mystery. Oh yeah…there is a fantastic bakery in Honolulu that closes at 11. One night we went there at 10:45 to order a few things; they kept saying “here, take some more” and we ended up with about a three-day supply of delicious danishes (with a microwave, you can overcome the slight staleness). We’ve always been torn between to greedy desire to go back just before closing in order to experience the same phenomenon and the realization we’d feel a bit guilty about it. It’s not uncommon for restaurants to run out of things here in Egypt. In some cases it is incompetence; in others, if the ingredient needed is an unusual import, they simply may not be able to get it sometimes. (We all have memories of “the great peanut butter shortage of '03” and similar tales of expat woe.) ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/127 "2007-06-11T10:20:29Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] At Panera, it was not unusual to be out of bagels by the end of the night, or on Sundays after the church rush we’d be out of certain popular flavors. [/QUOTE] Don’t I know…damn I hate when the pan-up manager cuts it too close… Peace, Love and MotherBread, tsfr ---
**Author:** ![Boggette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Boggette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boggette)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/128 "2007-06-11T14:08:05Z")
Years back… Super Bowl Sunday… Went to KFC. No chicken. Manager actually said to me, “Why are all these people here?” The line was out the door and around the corner. His accent indicated he wasn’t aware of American Sports High Holy Days. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/129 "2007-06-11T16:09:52Z")
[QUOTE=GrizzRich] Went to a (minor league) ballgame last night. They ran out of… hot dogs peanuts root beer [/QUOTE] It’s one thing to run out of perishable items. I forgive restaurants that run out of fresh fruit or veggies because overordering means waste. Running out of things like peanuts and root beer is simply unforgivable. They should have a fairly reasonable feel for how many bags of peanuts will be sold at a game, and have double that number on hand at all times. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/130 "2007-06-11T21:13:06Z")
I was at the Kentucky Derby and the drink kiosks ran out of mint juleps!! What the shit!?? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/131 "2007-06-12T00:27:23Z")
[QUOTE=GrizzRich] and yet, you _continually_ return. now I’m shaking MY head! [/QUOTE] You know, none of the items I listed keeps me from leaving with coffee, which is what I continually go in for. I’m just amazed that more diligence isn’t applied to stocking the array of preferred accoutrements for taking out that coffee. Understand? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/132 "2007-06-12T00:35:08Z")
[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=OneCentStamp] But that’s just it. Their bread-and-butter profit maker isn’t run-of-the-mill coffee drinks. It’s $4.75 milkshakes that taste vaguely of coffee and strongly of chocolate or caramel. It’s gotten to the point that, I made a Starbucks run for my office and I was the only one who ordered coffee. Boycott Starbucks, not because of any noble ideal, but simply because they suck. [/QUOTE] I meant they ran out of stuff that affected me, and that’s all that mattered. 😃 I only go there because, after I dump in a cauldron of half-and-half and foolocker’s worth of sugar, the caffeine is guaranteed to get me going. GrizzRich, I forgot the 😛 ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/133 "2007-06-12T00:51:55Z")
I went to a soccer playoff and they ran out of beer! Do I win the thread? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/134 "2007-06-13T14:18:17Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] It’s one thing to run out of perishable items. I forgive restaurants that run out of fresh fruit or veggies because overordering means waste. Running out of things like peanuts and root beer is simply unforgivable. They should have a fairly reasonable feel for how many bags of peanuts will be sold at a game, and have double that number on hand at all times. [/QUOTE] Are you implying that hot dogs are perishable? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/135 "2007-06-13T15:06:34Z")
A quick aside to anyone who’s been turned away by claims that McDonald’s ice cream machine is out of ice cream or broken: if it’s near closing time, they’ve probably already cleaned the machine and are too lazy to fire it up for just one customer. You can’t really win this one, though – if you call them on it, you’re getting foodservice from a surly employee whom you’ve just inconvenienced, and that’s a recipe for “secret sauce”. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/136 "2007-06-13T16:23:02Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny Hildo] My hometown has a faux Irish pub that doesn’t even _serve_ Guinness. [/QUOTE] Johnny Hildo, which pub is that? (I’m from Saint Paul) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/137 "2007-06-13T17:00:40Z")
There’s a place near me called Shawarma King. They have never, to the best of my knowledge, had any shawarma in stock. There’s a place I like to go almost every week. Their blueberry cobbler is too die for. When they have it. Which is never. Last week I was there, and – and this is where I put my thinking cap on – be very impressed – instead of ordering the cobbler, I asked the waitress if the actually had any. “Yes!”, she said cheerily. “Really?”, I countered. “Um… Let me check with the kitchen.” Guess what? But this is the one that kills me: Ex-GF used to work in a restaurant with a ditzy hostess who would ask patrons “Smoking or non-smoking?” When the patrons answered, she’d say “Oh. We don’t have anything in non-smoking.” ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/138 "2007-06-13T17:18:48Z")
The one that always amazes me is when a bar runs out of beer. I mean, c’mon, who would have thought people would come to a bar for beer? ---
**Author:** ![Anaptyxis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anaptyxis/32/3171_2.png) [@Anaptyxis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaptyxis)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/139 "2007-06-13T17:30:00Z")
Hmm, I might have had shawarma at Shawarma King! But maybe not - I usually go for whatever it is they make with chicken livers (I have an irrational love of chicken livers. 😃 ) I remember once ordering a baked potato at Wendy’s, and the clerk stopped me and went over to check on the status of the potatoes. She held up a nasty, undersized, shriveled dark brown thing and said, “Honey, this is the last potato, but trust me, you don’t want it.” And then she spiked it into the trash like a football. Another time I was visiting Texas and went to a sushi place that, it turns out, was out of tuna. And there was much weeping. The sushi kind of sucked anyway, though, so being out of tuna just added to the pathos. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065/140 "2007-06-13T20:59:03Z")
I have also been to Shawarma King, if you mean the one on Hillcroft in Houston. They weren’t out of anything when I went there. I was at a Denny’s at 3am on Saturday night once when the menu became extremely limited because one of the cooks brought in some booze and the ENTIRE cooking staff had gotten completely wasted, so the manager had to fire them all on the spot. The manager wasn’t able to cook anything, so that Denny’s only served salad and ice cream until the morning shift came in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-restaurant-how-did-you-run-out-of-that/407065.md?page=8)