KFC posted a full-page apology in two British newspapers Friday for a chicken shortage that forced the closure of hundreds of restaurants.
The fast-chain chain took out ads in the Metro and The Sun newspapers showing an empty bucket of chicken. Instead of the KFC logo, the letters on the side of the bucket were rearranged to read "FCK."
"Huge apologies to our customers, especially those who traveled out of their way to find we were closed," the apology said.
"It's been a hell of a week, but we're making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants."
The chain closed hundreds of restaurants this week following a problem with its chicken supplier, but almost 700 of its 900 U.K. outlets have reportedly reopened.
Earlier this week, KFC said the closures had been caused after it had taken on a new delivery partner, DHL, and apologized for the shortages.
DHL, which took on the contract last November with food service company QSL, said it regretted the interruption of supply and was working to rectify the situation as soon as possible.
"Whilst we are not the only party responsible for the supply chain to KFC, we do apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment caused to KFC and their customers by this incident," a DHL spokesperson said.
KFC set up a webpage for U.K. customers to find out the latest updates regarding their nearest outlets.
—CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this article.