‘It’s out of our hands’ – Supply chain issues a pain for Arthur Avenue businesses

Some business owners in the Bronx’s Little Italy say they have been experiencing supply chain shortages ahead of the holiday season.

News 12 Staff

Nov 28, 2021, 7:00 PM

Updated 1,050 days ago

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Some business owners in the Bronx’s Little Italy say they have been experiencing supply chain shortages ahead of the holiday season.
Arthur Avenue is usually packed during this time of year with people coming out to eat with their families and customers stocking up on supplies, like wine and bread, to hunker down for the winter holidays.
However, many stores this year have been experiencing delays from their supply chain, such as Arthur Cantina Wine and Liquor.
Since a lot of their products are imported from Italy, it’s taking longer than usual for the shipments to arrive.
Store manager Anthony Angrisani told News 12 some of their most popular items may not even arrive before Christmas.
"Most containers that were taking two weeks to come from Italy are now taking three weeks,” he says. “But there is an expected increase in cost, so that cost is eventually going to get passed down to consumers. I don't like to increase prices for anyone, I don't like to have prices increased on me. So, we'll do our best, but it's out of our hands."
Still, Angrisani says he hasn’t seen a shortage in customers with people shopping in store and online. He says they’re still anticipating making good profits this year.
Madonia Bakery is also experiencing long delays in their orders.
“Things like jelly, which comes from California, strawberries, raspberries, we've ordered twice as much as we normally do,” says owner Peter Madonia. “Basement capacity is limiting, so there's only so much we could do in advance."
Despite the current issues, Madonia says customers are still lining up and supporting his business.
“We've had a very good year. The fact that people are eating home more, people are entertaining more, has really accelerated. It'll be really festive and fun here for Christmas and the holidays,” he says.