Saudi chicken lovers in a flap over new store

A popular Saudi Arabian fried chicken shop has had shut the doors its new branch only four hours after its grand opening because a massive crowd of would-be customers got out of control, according to local news.

Saudi fast-food chain al-Baik tried to launch a new branch in the north-central city of Buraidah on Wednesday, compelling thousands of hungry people to queue up to buy their evening iftar meals.

The large crowd of fasting locals and expats soon lost their cool after realizing the newly opened restaurant could not handle the high demand for delicious deep fried chicken.

The mob then reportedly smashed the glass front of the shop, injuring four people in the process, before police arrived at the scene and dispersed the crowd, bringing the festivities to an abrupt end.

	An al-Baik chicken meal [Efren Rodriguez/Flickr]

Local police said that several people from the crowd were arrested including a young man who posted a video on social media of him outside the restaurant in the robes of a Mecca pilgrim.

The restaurant has denied some of these reports in a tweet, saying, “The news that damage has taken place during the opening of a restaurant in al-Qassim province is not true. We would like to clarify that we closed it to maintain the safety of our customers.”

Al-Baik also thanked the police officers who were called in to help get the unruly crowd under control.

The same day the popular chain held a ceremony at the Buraidah branch for 70 fresh graduates of its employment programme with the Governor of Qassim, Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abd al-Aziz, in attendance.

Al-Baik specializes in super-fast budget priced deep fried chicken and prawns and has over 50 branches across the Kingdom.

#AlBaikShutsDown was one of the most trending hashtags in Saudi Arabia on Thursday with Twitter users sharing pictures of the incident and commenting on the scenes of pandemonium.