CANONSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) - Kids across the area will wake up Easter morning to find incomplete baskets -- a gaping hole in the spot traditionally filled with a bag of Sarris jelly beans.
It's a magical land filled with enough sugar and chocolate to give the best belly aches, but Mr. Bill Sarris, the owner of Sarris Candies, sits in his office feeling sad. Chocolate Depositor Machine
"It makes you feel bad. I feel bad. I do. Because I hear it!" he said.
The phones are ringing, the emails keep dinging and the ladies from Greensburg are miffed.
"It's not Easter without their jelly beans," said Laramae Pleins.
"It's a shame to drive that far and not get jelly beans," said Joyce Cubinek. "We're very sad about it."
Sarris even put a sign at the register to break the news.
The culprit? A chain shortage since the pandemic: a lack of pectin and starch that Sarris' Ukrainian jelly bean supplier needs to make his signature recipe.
He tried a different bean last year.
"We found a supplier not to make ours but something that they had and so we purchased those beans for resale -- our customers ripped us apart," he said.
So instead of disappointing loyal customers another go-around, he decided no beans are better than imposter beans.
"We've been making these jelly beans since the 60s, same recipe, same formula and our jelly beans are very tender, light flavor, they don't have a hard shell."
And don't worry. KDKA-TV asked: Can't Sarris just buy his own jelly bean-making machine and get to work? After all, Jesus rose from the dead.
"To get the whole thing in production, it would be about $5 million just for the equipment, and the equipment comes from Europe and the equipment is probably 6 to 17 months out."
If all goes as planned, the jelly beans will have a triumphant return next year.
Meghan Schiller is an Emmy-nominated journalist who joined KDKA in October 2017. She's thrilled to be back in her hometown and reporting at the station she grew up watching.
First published on March 17, 2023 / 6:11 PM
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