A man pulls a gun on a Popeyes’ manager after being told its new chicken sandwich is not available.
A group of people went to Popeye’s in Houston apparently hoping to satisfy their craving for chicken sandwiches and weren’t too happy to hear that restaurant was fresh out. So unhappy, in fact, one of the men pulled a gun on the manager. Houston police Lt. Larry Crowson said officers were “called to the restaurant Monday night after a group of people tried to order a chicken sandwich. When the manager told them they were out, one of the males became upset and pulled a pistol. The manager again informed them they were out of sandwiches.” Luckily no one was injured, and the group left after that point.
Popeyes recently announced the release of its crispy chicken sandwich, which incited a widespread social media debate over which fast food chain has the best option and ultimately leading to the product selling out much more quickly than anticipated. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen tweeted shortly after, “Unfortunately, we’re sold out (for now).” The next day, it followed up, stating the new menu item would be available again “as soon as possible.”
The CEO of Popeyes’ parent company Restaurant Brands International said that the sandwich “was tested in the Houston market almost ten months ago before rolling out to the rest of the country in August.” He added, “I think we missed one thing. We didn’t expect to break the internet, and we had the entire nation really excited about the Popeyes chicken sandwich. And as a result, we ran out much sooner than we anticipated.”
This evidently enraged the Houston group. A police report stated the group of five first started their outing by circling around the drive thru, then parked after the attendant said the sandwich was still out of stock. They tried to force their way into the restaurant, but the employees were able to keep them out. No shots were fired.
Crowson said he would “categorize the incident as an aggravated assault” because the gunman “was displaying a weapon and threatened employees.” The report indicated there was also a baby that was left in the back seat of the vehicle at the time of the incident.
The sandwich shortage also led to the temporary closure of a Popeyes in Henderson, Nevada. “[The city of] Henderson is telling us that we’re going to be fined a lot of money if we don’t close down,” regional manager Bill Vickers said. “We need to have security out here. The neighbors, Wendy’s, are complaining about the disturbance, cars lining all the way up through their properties. So, we’re going to have to shut down.”
And, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a man actually filed a lawsuit over the situation. Craig Barr said, “I can’t get happy; I have this sandwich on my mind. I can’t think straight. It just consumes you.”
After witnessing the social media frenzy, McDonald’s has decided to start offering a new Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich. According to the company, it comes equipped with a buttermilk crispy chicken fillet on a sesame seed bun with slivered onions, pickles, and a spicy BBQ glaze.
Sources:
Texas Popeye’s ran out of chicken sandwiches, man pulls gun
The Backlash to the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is Finally Here
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