Was Someone Really Attacked Over Chick-Fil-A Sauce?

It's no secret that Chick-fil-A sauce boasts a pretty dedicated fanbase — one might even say a cult following — so when the restaurant chain decided to offer this signature sauce as well as its Polynesian sauce in grocery stores (via The Chicken Wire), the people rejoiced. Starting in early 2021, fans could buy 16-ounce bottles of both sauces at regional and national retailers around the United States. This was definitely an improvement over the 2020 Chick-fil-A decision to offer 8-ounce containers of its sauces (not only limited to the signature Chick-fil-A and Polynesian sauces, but also inclusive of the brand's barbecue, honey mustard, and garden herb ranch sauces) for purchase in-restaurant only.

But, unfortunately, Chick-fil-A's aim to please quickly backfired, as the brand, just two months after shipping Chick-fil-A sauce to grocery stores all around the country, announced a sauce shortage. Maybe the brand didn't keep enough of the good stuff for its own use? Whatever the specific reasons, as CNN reported, Chick-fil-A said "industry-wide supply chain issues" had resulted in the sauce shortage, meaning a new in-restaurant policy of only one dipping sauce per item per customer — and some customers are handling the news worse than others.

When the Chick-fil-A sauce shortage first came to light, Food Network advised readers to purchase their own bottles of the condiment in the meantime, but for one Kansas man, seeing the Chick-fil-A signature sauce on local store shelves was a bit too much to handle. While the exact reasons for the assault are unknown, The Wichita Eagle reported that a 37-year-old Wichita man became upset when he visited a local grocery store and saw Chick-fil-A sauce on the store shelves, with a reduced price. The man's reaction to the sauce intensified until he punched one of the store employees. After being detained, the man threatened staff, left, retrieved his vehicle, and drove it "toward the entrance doors of the business." The man was then arrested at his home on suspicion of aggravated assault and aggravated criminal threat.

While it's still, as mentioned, yet to be seen exactly why the man became so impassioned over the store's Chick-fil-A sauce stock — whether it was related to the shortage, as The Wichita Eagle implies, or, as one commenter thought, regarding the store selling the sauce, period — it's worth remembering the incident the next time you're feeling a tad feisty over your favorite fast food. After all, things could be worse; instead of a sauce shortage, Chick-fil-A could be feeling the effects of the fast-food chicken shortage (via Eat This, Not That!). Luckily, though, the chain has remained, thus far, relatively unscathed by the decrease in meat, according to CNN.