Craig Barr of Chattanooga, Tenn., is suing Popeyes for false advertising, deceptive business practices, and wasting “countless time” in his pursuit of their very good chicken sandwich, which was put on hiatus after hordes of fried-chicken-enthusiasts caused the franchise to sell out of the beloved sandwich.
According to the lawsuit, Barr was wandering the desert like Moses in search of Popeyes’ juicy crisp promised land. But sometimes, salvation evades us—as it seems to have evaded Barr, who traveled from location to location to secure the famed sandwich, to no avail.
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press:
Barr, of East Ridge, also claims he was hustled out of $25 by a man who posted a Craigslist ad claiming he could get sandwiches a restaurant was hiding in the back, suffered rim and tire damage while driving from location to location, and was humiliated when his friends laughed at him.
“I can’t get happy; I have this sandwich on my mind. I can’t think straight,” he told the Times Free Press on Thursday. “It just consumes you.”
Turns out Jezebel’s Megan Reynolds was on to something when she warned, “the chicken is eating us.”
Barr told the local paper he blew the tire on his car while driving on the highway in pursuit of the sandwich, cracking a $1,500 rim.
Undeterred and hungry as hell, Barr fixed the tire only to drive to another Popeye’s location and find the sandwich had sold out there as well. It was then Barr took the path that many desperate men running out of options take: He hopped on Craigslist.
There, he found an ad “from a man claiming he had a friend who worked at Popeyes,” writes the Times Free Press.
Ah! At long last! A hookup!
Except, well. Let’s let the Times Free Press tell it:
The worker had supposedly stashed some sandwiches in a walk-in freezer, and the Craiglist seller could get Barr a sandwich that was being held in the back of the Broad Street location.
Barr met with the man behind the restaurant on Monday, handing him $25 —$5 for the sandwich and $20 for the troubles. The man allegedly went into the store and never came back. Barr went inside after realizing what happened. An employee said a man matching the description had bought something and left out the front door.
“I got scammed,” Barr said.
Barr, who owns his own automotive company, said Popeyes gassed people up on the sandwiches and intentionally kept supplies low.
“It’s totally deceptive. Who runs out of chicken? It’s a big fiasco. Someone has to stand up to big corporate,” Barr said. “Everyone is captivated by these sandwiches. They’ve got everyone gassed up on them.”
In a statement shared Tuesday this week, the fast-food restaurant said it had run through a forecast seven weeks of inventory in just two weeks.
“We, along with our suppliers, are working tirelessly to bring the new sandwich back to guests as soon as possible,” Popeyes said.