A knish factory fire in New York has led to a nationwide shortage of the Jewish deep-fried treat.
Gabila's, the world's biggest maker of knishes, suffered a fire on Sept. 24 that led to it shutting down their machines, a crucial to the production of knishes, the Associated Press reported. As a result, vendors across the country have suffered from a shortage in knish inventory and over the past six weeks been unable to restock their shelves with the much sought after deep-fried.
Pastrami King owner Joe Yamali said he normally sells about 2,000 knishes a month.
"It brings you back to your childhood and they're just so delicious," Yamali told the AP. "Gabila is square and fried. You bite into it and the potato oozes out. It's very good."
According to the company's management, the factory promises an end to the knish stortage. The company hopes to resume production once machines have been repaired and hopes knishes will begin flowing out the factory door in time for Thanksgiving, which also happens to coincide with the start of Hanukkah this year.
"Our customers are calling us saying they are literally searching supermarkets and stores and they're all asking when we'll be back," Stacey Ziskin Gabay, one of the owners of the 92-year-old Gabila's Knishes, which sells about 15 million knishes a year.
Having been in business for the past 92 years, Gabila's Knishes says it produces 15 million Knishes each year, along with other various Jewish delicacies such as matzoh balls, blintzes and latkas.
The company sells to retail outlets throughout the country particularly in the New York, Florida and California markets, the AP noted.
