KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Michigan party stores are looking a little emptier than usual heading into the holiday season.

The shortage comes after one of Michigan’s biggest liquor agents delayed orders for more than 13,000 retailers.

Republic National Distributing Company, one of three companies responsible for warehousing and delivering spirits on behalf of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, sent an apology to their customers regarding the delays.

The delays, which started several weeks ago, stem from RNDC’s move into a new, state-of-the-art warehousing facility in Livonia.

“We apologize to our many customers and to the state of Michigan for not hitting our high goals for solid delivery service to the many retailers we service,” Steve Rochow, Michigan State Executive Vice President for RNDC, said in a press release.

RNDC also blamed bad weather, software issues and disruptions to their internet. They asked their customers to delay orders for the next three days while they catch up.

“Moving from two warehouses to one while serving our many customers turned out to be like building a new plane while flying it – and we have not performed adequately.”

RNDC is working closely with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to keep it updated on decisions and progress. RNDC said they’re working on the backlogged orders and expect things to be back to normal by mid-December.

“We apologize for these delays. They are not acceptable. We are working as quickly as possible to resolve the issues that are causing them, but it may be several weeks before customers regain their normal high levels of service,” Rochow said.

We are entirely focused on fixing our issues to meet customers’ needs.

Retailer licensees can click here to submit a complaint directly to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.

Source: WSBT