Mother's Day crowds overwhelm Red Lobster in Ross

Police were called to keep order as the Red Lobster in Ross Township closed Sunday evening, leaving dozens of customers without food after they spent hours waiting, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI.

The McKnight Road restaurant was swamped by Mother’s Day orders. The parking lot was packed with customers, some of whom had waited for up to three hours, WPXI reported.

Township police arrived at the restaurant as it closed around 8 p.m. Customers were irate, though no arrests were reported, according to WPXI.

The police department could not be reached for comment.

UPDATE: @redlobster on McKnight RD has closed for the evening. People that we’re waiting to pick up their food are furious and where told that they could get a refund online. @RossPolice were called in to make sure people remained calm. #wpxi https://t.co/CSF7XGwyM8

— Ryan (@WPXIPhotogRyan) May 10, 2020

Red Lobster’s corporate office issued a statement about the incident, attributing the long wait times to the strict health and safety standards imposed because of the coronavirus.

“We apologize that some of our guests experienced longer than anticipated wait times and crowds today and in some cases may have chosen not to wait for their orders,” the statement said.

Customers who paid through RedLobster.com will be refunded, the statement said. Those who placed orders through a third party, like Grubhub or DoorDash, will need to seek a refund through those companies.