x
Breaking News
More () »

Small businesses struggle to receive orders after supply trucks fail to arrive

The owner of Rockstar Pizza in Brownsburg says he's one of many businesses being challenged by staffing shortages at warehouses that are affecting his deliveries.

BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have been tasked with new challenges like finding employees, supply shortages and rising prices.  

Now, they are facing another struggle: supply trucks not making deliveries. 

The owner of Rockstar Pizza in Brownsburg noticed the problem last year. Since then, Ron Matthews said he's been forced to make last minutes trips just to get his supplies and ingredients in order to remain open. 

“It’s always something. We can’t catch a break. We just can’t,” Matthews said, who’s owned the restaurant for about 10 years with his wife. 

Credit: WTHR
Like many businesses, Rockstar Pizza in Brownsburg is struggling with a supply shortage that's caused by a worker shortage at the warehouse where it gets its supplies.

Last Thursday night, Matthews found out two of his supply trucks were not going to make it Friday. He was told that warehouses are short on workers to pull items and as a result, the delivery drivers are losing allotted driving time while waiting on trucks to get filled.  

RELATED: Labor shortage leaves school districts struggling to fill open positions

RELATED: TSA: Staffing shortage could affect 1 in 3 airports during summer travel season

Knowing the weekends are his busiest days, he had no choice but to get the supplies himself by chasing down deliveries in his own vehicle.  

“I could not be without the supplies, so we had to hustle up and we emptied all the cars and went out there and picked it up in increments because we couldn’t get it all in one trip,” Matthews said. “When we got there, I was kind of surprised because there were 15 people waiting. It wasn’t just me. I talked to some of the other people and they’re like, 'This is our third week having to do this.'” 

Since last year, Matthews has been scrambling to get supplies and taking a hit because of the high prices.  

“We’ve been able to dodge this bullet for a while now, but there is probably going to be a time when it is going to hit us,” he said.  

RELATED: Taco Bell joins fast food chains to run into supply shortages

Matthews’ wife posted on Facebook about the struggles small businesses are facing. Since then, they’ve received a lot of comments from people wanting to help and support them. 

“I think the post opened a lot of our customers' eyes and their hearts,” Matthews said. 

Credit: WTHR
Like many businesses, Rockstar Pizza in Brownsburg is struggling with a supply shortage that's caused by a worker shortage at the warehouse where it gets its supplies.

The post also shared a request for customers to be more patient when a restaurant is out of something or its prices have increased. Matthews said many times, it’s out of their control and they are dealing with a lot of hurdles just to stay open. 

“I don’t know one owner or one manager that really wants to fail. They want to do the best they can for you. They are handcuffed and limited to what they can do and bring to the table,” Matthews said.  

To help, Matthews moved his delivery days to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That way, if one is late, it won’t affect his weekend business. 

What other people are reading: 

Before You Leave, Check This Out