A viral video surfaced over the weekend that showed two parties arguing at a Golden Corral buffet before descending into violence. The fight started with punches being thrown, which scattered the majority of the crowd.
Footage of the incident later captured individuals using high chairs as their weapons of choice as the most aggrieved continued to escalate the situation.
Employees are seen trying to defuse the situation but their approaches did little to stop the altercation. By the end of the video, the restaurant is in shambles and appears to have emptied.
In the video, a man can be heard yelling, “All I wanted was some steak!”
While police have yet to determine the exact cause of the fight, a former employee believes the brawl began over steak.
Dylan Becker, a former Golden Corral employee, told the local Philadelphia CBS affiliate, “From what I heard, it was over steak. Apparently somebody cut in line.”
Becker said a friend, who still works at the restaurant, gave them the inside scoop.
The police have not yet determined who started the altercation but that individual or individuals could face multiple charges including simple assault.
Supply chain issues caused by the global pandemic have hit the meat industry hard. The combination of the omicron surge and a mass of resignations have left grocery stores, and apparently Golden Corral locations, without the food to satisfy customers.
According to Paul Lightfoot, president and founder of Brightfarms, “We don’t have a problem with farms producing enough food. We have problems with not enough labor in the supply chains between the farms and the consumers.”
Analysis from Purdue University suggested that “animal slaughtering and processing” is the most likely to be impacted by labor disruptions.
According to Ahmad Zia Wahdat, who worked on the research paper, “If something happens, it actually leads to a much larger loss in production compared to any other food industry on that list,” due to the large number of individuals needed to take an animal from slaughter to the consumer.
A food fight at a Pennsylvania Golden Corral that was allegedly caused by a cut in line and a shortage of steak may have its origins in the United States’ current supply chain issues.