Sorry, No Carnitas: Chipotle Not Serving Pork at Some Connecticut Locations

If you have a hankering for carnitas at Chipotle Mexican Grill, you might have to wait awhile until its return to some Connecticut locations.

The Chipotle on New Britain Avenue in West Hartford has a sign posted on its door and inside with "SORRY, NO CARNITAS" in big letters.

"Due to supply constraints, we are currently unable to serve our Responsibly Raised pork. Trust us, we're just as disappointed as you and as soon as we get it back, we'll let the world know," the sign at the Chipotle says.

A store employee said the location likely won't get Carnitas again until the end of May and that the company is working to put it back on the menu as soon as possible. The employee also said other Connecticut locations aren't serving Carnitas right now, but it's unconfirmed which ones aren't serving it.

Chipotle is still facing a nationwide Carnitas shortage since it announced in January it would stop serving pork at a third of its restaurants in the country because one of its suppliers was not complying with its animal-welfare standards.

"We regularly audit our suppliers to ensure that they meet all of our high standards. As part of our ongoing audit program, we found a pork supplier that was not meeting all of our standards," Chipotle said on its website. "While the supplier in question was meeting most of our standards, some of their practices related to the size and condition of the housing offered to some of the pigs were not in line with our protocols. As soon as we identified these issues, we suspended our purchases from this supplier. Without this supplier, we do not have enough Responsibly Raised pork for all of our restaurants, and we will not be able to serve carnitas in some restaurants."

A Chipotle representative said on Twitter that about 60 percent of its restaurants are still serving carnitas.

Chipotle is working with the supplier to ensure that all animal-welfare standards are met before the company gets pork from there again, according to its website. The company is also seeking out new suppliers.