Golden Corral Buffet Brawl Blamed On Steak Shortage

A Friday night fight at a Golden Corral outside Philadelphia is being blamed on a steak shortage that turned into fisticuffs and highchairs being used as weapons. Bensalem, PA authorities say the fight included more than 40 people, and it sounds like this one can be traced to buffet line behavior.

While the police haven't stuck a fork in the root cause, one former Golden Corral worker tells CBS Philadelphia that he's hearing someone cut in line to get a steak and it was on!

“There was a shortage of steak and two parties were involved and one family cut in front of another family, they were taking their time and they ran out of steak and it got into a heated exchange at the tables,” a source told CBS Philadelphia said.

In the brawl video, one man can be heard yelling "all I wanted was some steak."

On January 23, Fox Business reported that meat has been piling up at processing plants as steakhouses have canceled orders. While it's unclear if Golden Corral has cut back on orders, creating a shortage that sent patrons into fight mode, the industry insiders say that in some areas, Omicron concerns have caused fewer people to go out, which has caused a trickle-down effect all the way to places like Golden Corral buffet lines.

"It's a lot more expensive to go out. Inflation is rampant in our industry. Our food inflation is hovering around 20%. So, if you go out, it's going to cost you a lot more," Andrew Neva, owner and vice president of operations at the Northwest Meat Company in Chicago, told Fox Business.

"Plus the weather — we had a major snowstorm. If you get a massive snowstorm, then forget about it."

The next thing you know, a Philly-area Golden Corral is blown up and people are left trying to figure out what happened to endless Corral steak on a Friday night.

We truly are living in difficult times.