Panic!? Taco Bell And Starbucks Warn About Shortages Panic!? Taco Bell And Starbucks Warn About Shortages By Jonathan Maze of Restaurant Business , Supply chain problems continue to plague the restaurant industry, leading big chains Taco Bell and Starbucks to warn consumers on Monday that some items may not be available. Starbucks told customers on its app that "due to supply shortages, some items are temporarily unavailable." That echoed warnings that have persisted at the chain''s locations for months. Consumers have complained on social media channels about periodic shortages of items such as green tea. At Taco Bell, customers are complaining about a lack of hot sauce. The Mexican fast-food chain''s website warns customers that not all items are available at the moment. "Sorry if we can''t feed your current crave. Due to national ingredient shortages and delivery delays, we may be out of some items," an orange banner with bold lettering read on the top of Taco Bell''s website. The company, owned by Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands, blamed transportation problems for the shortages. "Due to national transportation delays happening throughout most of the industry, we may be temporarily out of some items," the company said in a statement. "Apologies for the inconvenience and we hope to feed fans'' current Taco Bell cravings again soon." Restaurants have faced shortages of everything from sauces to pickles to chicken wings in recent months due to a host of issuesincluding weather problems in Texas and intense demand from consumers coupled with supply limitations.