Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Popeyes' chicken sandwich is selling out in locations across the US.
- Popeyes and Chick-fil-A are battling over which chain has the better chicken sandwich.
- A Chick-fil-A employee crossed enemy lines on Monday when he brought over some Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches to "stressed out" workers at a neighboring Popeyes, local news in Greensboro, North Carolina, reported.
- Popeyes locations across the country have been flooded with customers trying to get their hands on the chain's new menu item. Some employees have been working 60-hour weeks and shifts with no breaks to deal with the increased flow of customers.
- "We've looked into this and the restaurants are apparently right next door to each other," a representative from Chick-fil-A told Business Insider. "The local restaurant noticed how busy the Popeyes employees were and wanted to do something nice for them, so they brought them free breakfast."
- Popeyes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The Great Chicken Sandwich War of 2019 is in full swing. But even on the battlefield, there are acts of kindness to be found.
A Chick-fil-A employee was spotted handing out chicken sandwiches near a Popeyes in Greensboro, North Carolina, to help out the "stressed out" employees at the restaurant, local NBC affiliate WCNC reported. The man, identified as a Chick-fil-A director named Nick, was spotted by Popeyes customer Jené Walker, who was on her way to try the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
"He had the biggest smile on his face," Walker told WCNC. "When we asked him what he was doing over there at Popeyes he said he was just bringing over some sandwiches since he knew they were sold out."
Walker snapped a photo of the encounter and shared it on Facebook on Monday. The post went viral, spurring spin-off memes, one of which has racked up over 70,000 shares in less than 24 hours.
After Popeyes debuted its own chicken sandwich earlier this month, Popeyes and Chick-fil-A engaged in a Twitter feud over which chain had the better sandwich. Following the viral spat, Popeyes locations across the US saw a massive uptick in customer visits and chicken sandwich orders. Many locations have been selling out of the item, and employees are working on overdrive to cater to the high demand.
"I was working like a slave in the back prepping the buns with pickles and the spicy mayo," one 18-year-old Popeyes crew member in Orange County, California, told Business Insider.
Nick told Walker that he wanted to help out the Popeyes employees who had been "stressed out," WCNC reported.
"We've looked into this and the restaurants are apparently right next door to each other," a representative from Chick-fil-A told Business Insider."The local restaurant noticed how busy the Popeyes employees were and wanted to do something nice for them, so they brought them free breakfast."
Popeyes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.