2014 is being called the year of the Great Lime Shortage, and bars and restaurants are scrambling to figure out what to do about the rising costs that have resulted. The fruit is used in popular bar foods like fish tacos, guacamole, ceviche, and Thai food, and while such items can always come off the menu for now, what’s more important to many is how the shortage threatens the fate of the margarita and the famously lime-garnished Corona.

We as a country typically consume 500,000 tons of limes every year, so there’s no way around the fact that this is going to sting. So far, bars are coping with the lime shortage in many ways, from simply breaking the news to patrons to actually offering customers deep discounts for bringing in their own bags of the fruit. Read more