Hamilton grocery stores face shortage of cake and icing — but the reason why remains a mystery

Hamiltonians hoping to ring in a special occasion with a quintessential slab cake may be out of luck - but it all depends on where you shop.

The Spectator received a handful of tips earlier this week pointing to a shortage of cakes at local grocery stores around the city.

Some parents even took to local Facebook groups to air their grievances after being told it could be weeks before a gateau with their child's name scrawled on its top could be ready for them.

One mother noted in her post that she and her family can't afford the alternative of a custom bakery cake, while another asked for input on other options aside from those available at Costco.

So, The Spectator went looking for its own cake - however, the results differed depending on who you reached.

At Fortinos, which has locations spanning from Waterdown to Stoney Creek, the results varied by store, with each in-store bakery facing its own supply constraints.

At the Dundurn Fortinos, a worker said that the store was having issues" getting slab cakes from their warehouse, but they could offer round cakes that serve around a dozen people.

And then at both the Mall Road Fortinos and the Upper James Fortinos, the bakeries were not taking any orders for cake, as they were out of both icing and cakes, according to workers at each of the stores.

It was a similar situation at Sobeys, which has three stores in Hamilton.

A worker at the Ancaster Sobeys said they were not currently taking any cake orders as of Tuesday and could not say when they would resume.

At the Stoney Creek store, the bakery was taking orders for cakes, but they were out of whipped icing and marble slab cakes. The only other options were butter cream icing, with a choice of either chocolate or vanilla cakes.

And at the store in Waterdown, the bakery only had chocolate whipped icing and marble cakes.

At the Metro located at the Centre on Barton, the in-store bakery could only fulfil orders of either quarter-slab or half-slab vanilla cakes.

But not all stores appear to be affected, The Spectator has found.

When reached by The Spectator, a worker at Costco in Ancaster said the store hadn't had any supply issues with cakes and was able to fulfil orders.

While the shortage itself appears to be very real, the reason behind it remains a mystery.

The Spectator reached out to Sobeys, Metro and Loblaws, but only heard back from Metro spokesperson Stephanie Bonk.

She called the shortage an industry issue," and pointed The Spectator to industry group Food, Health and Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) for comment.

In an email to The Spectator, FHCP spokesperson Anthony Fuchs said the organization had reached out to several companies, and found that either shortages haven't been an issue or they are investigating on their end and haven't gotten back to us."

Food supply company Rich's also told The Spectator they don't supply cakes to the Hamilton retailers impacted by the shortages.

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com