CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Governor Abbott recently announced extra inspections at the U.S.-Mexico border for commercial trucks in response to President Biden’s plan to ease border policies for asylum seekers.
Abbott announced he repealed the inspection order on Friday, but it caused many truck delays at the border in the past few days.
Some local businesses in Corpus Christi said they are feeling the sting of products being delayed due to supply-chain issues, and with Abbott’s order, it made getting products a little worse for some of the restaurants.
Fruit King on Ayers Street said for months it’s been harder finding some products and found it harder to get bell peppers this week.
They get their products from the Rio Grande Valley, but said some of their products like avocados and onions, come from Mexico.
They said they’re having to stay longer in the Valley to make sure they get all their produce.
“It’s usually a few items or not many but we do try to keep a lot of the main stuff in like tomatoes, lettuce, onions, things that a lot of people do ask for, lemons, and limes,” Sally Martinez, their general manager said.
Coral Bean Cafe has been feeling the sting of food shortages due to supply chain issues for months.
They said items like basil and oranges are harder to come by. Owner Curt Flowers said he has had to adjust their menu.
“As restaurants, especially now that we have brunch, the best thing to do is adjust your menu as best as you can and keep it simple. You don’t need a lot of ingredients, but do whatever you can with what you have,” Flowers said.
Flowers said buying produce locally has allowed Coral Bean Cafe to get through some produce shortages.
Bellino, an Italian restaurant in Corpus Christi, also buys locally.
They buy from farmers and their owner Freanceso Inguaggiato said that is an advantage during produce shortages.
“When they give me their availability, it’s 100 percent guaranteed, so it’s not that they say tomorrow I can deliver five pounds of spinach and they don’t come. I'm going to get some,” he said.
He said products like parsley, cilantro, and avocados get delivered to their distributor from Mexico and said sometimes he can’t get those products. He said they were not experiencing changes because of Abbott’s inspection order.
