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Fire At Gabila's Factory Blamed For NYC Knish Shortage

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The New York Metro area has suffered shortages in the past, but a knish crisis?

Yes, it's true. A fire at the Gabila's factory in Copiague, Long Island is being blamed for a knish shortage in the city's five boroughs.

"Due to a small contained fire in our factory we are unable to produce any square knishes until approximately the end of November," the company posted on its website.

New York Suffering From Knish Shortage Following Fire At Gabila's Factory

The company wrote on its Facebook page that other products, such as their baked knishes, are still available.

Gabila's Old Fashioned Coney Island Square Knish
Gabila's Old Fashioned Coney Island Square Knish (credit: Handout)

As CBS 2's John Slattery reported, you can still get your pastrami piled high or a couple of franks at Katz's Delicatessen, at 205 E. Houston St. on the Lower East Side. But you if you're craving an Old Fashioned Coney Island Square Knish, then you're out of luck.

"All I have are round baked knishes, no fried square ones," Kenny Kohn, the chef at Katz's Delicatessen on East Houston Street, told 1010 WINS' John Montone. "If you have a suitcase full of money I can't get you one."

"Believe me, if I could give you a square knish, I would give you a square knish," Jake Dell, the fifth generation owner of Katz's, told Slattery, "I just can't right now."

Knish customers were bummed out by their absence.

"I'm a little upset about it," said knish customer Christopher Miller. "I came all the way from southwestern New Jersey to eat a knish, and they don't have any square knishes."

"I don't know what's going on, but I need my knish fix," added knish customer John Costelloe.

Kohn suggested one alternative.

"What I can do is take a round knish, pound it out, turn it into a square and serve it to you," he said.

But for purists, a round knish just will not do.

Gabila's bills itself as the largest maker of knishes in the world, claiming to have sold more than 1.3 billion knishes.

The company moved from its longtime home in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in 2006 to its current factory in Copiague.

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