Nando's has announced that 45 of its locations have closed owing to a chicken shortage caused by a shortage of employees in the supply chain.
The shortages at Nando's come just weeks after KFC announced it would have to reduce its menu selections owing to supply difficulties.
In recent weeks, supermarket shelves have also been hit.
As the sector battles with personnel difficulties and a scarcity of lorry drivers, chicken suppliers have warned that the interruption is "not going away"
There was a lack of chicken stock from suppliers, according to signs on Nando's restaurant windows. Customers were also affected by "isolation periods" among employees, according to the restaurant business.
Nando's said it has dispatched about 70 employees to suppliers to assist with supply difficulties and expects to reopen its locations on Saturday as a consequence.
“The UK food industry has been experiencing disruption across its supply chain in recent weeks due to staff shortages, and a number of our restaurants have been affected,” a Nando's spokeswoman said.
“However, a team of our brilliant Nandocas has been supporting our key suppliers onsite since Monday, working together to help get things moving again, and this has already had a positive impact on affected restaurants.
“As a result of the hard work behind the scenes, all of our restaurants will be open again on Saturday, and all of our customers will be able to enjoy their favorite peri-peri chicken.”
Industry sources, however, told the PA news agency that this "will not touch the sides."
The “complexity” of needs for items bought by restaurants such as Nando's and KFC, according to the industry executive, means they will be more affected by the chicken shortfall than retailers.
Earlier this month, a chicken industry insider told PA that concerns about EU labor restrictions will continue to wreak havoc on the food supply.
“We raised this issue with the government several weeks ago, and nothing significant has happened since then, so it is clear that it will not go away,” he added.
“To meet this demand, we need new workers, and while Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has been helpful, the problem lies with the Home Office.
“There are staffing shortages ranging from 10% to 20%, so we need to make some emergency changes to get workers from other countries to fill the gap.”
