TOLEDO, Ohio — The oldest Mexican restaurant in Toledo is running into a familiar pandemic problem: supply chain issues.
Dina Villa, owner of El Tipico, will be cutting some of her menu items because she can't get organic steak from suppliers.
She has been helping run El Tipico for years. Her father opened the popular South Toledo spot back in 1968. They serve only organic and grass-fed meats and vegetables. But Villa says she can't find steak anywhere.
"The mass-produced meats, big corporations, those were the ones that were having all the shortages," she noted, "but now it's affecting our grass-fed as well and the organic."
They still are serving chicken, ground beef and veggie dishes but anything with steak, such as their popular beef tips or steak fajitas, will be hard to come by after this week.
Villa took to Facebook to let customers know of the change.
Some loyal customers came out Thursday for one last taste, at least for now.
"It's going to be a particular problem because the beef tips that I get here, you can get no place else," said Mark Chaney, who saw the post on Facebook.
Chaney and his wife have been going to the restaurant for close to 40 years, when Villa's dad still ran it. They say it's sad these issues are persisting.
"Supply and demand being what it is, if it's not there, it's not there so she had no choice," he said.
Other supply chain issues like rising gas prices, shortage of drivers and hard-to-find supplies are also making things worse. But loyal customers say they understand.
"I would continue to support the small business especially this one," said Chaney's wife. "We've been coming a long time so if she doesn't have something I'll order something else."
And Villa has been blown away by the support. Some customers have even posted places and farms for her to try and find a new supplier.
"I really thought that they were going to be upset, but they're really being supportive," Villa said.
It's a temporary problem but for some people, tradition is more important. Steak items will be on the menu until Saturday and then will become available on a limited basis when she can get the product in.