Cheesecake Factory's free slice promotion sparks fights, arrest in Arlington

If there's one thing in life worth fighting for, it's apparently cheesecake.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, The Cheesecake Factory announced it would be giving out 40,000 free slices across its locations Wednesday. But the promise of silky sweetness turned sour as the promotion started in Arlington, Virginia, ARL Now reports.

The promotion, which promised a free slice of cheesecake to anyone ordering delivery through DoorDash, started at 11:30 a.m. at locations nationwide. Not long after, police were dispatched to Arlington's Cheesecake Factory amid reports of "a large crowd and heavy traffic," per ARL Now. Police barely left the scene when they got another call. This time, there was apparently a fight going on, but police didn't find one when they arrived.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Despite this restaurant being a place for families who drive Camrys, police and medics did find a "hectic" scene of delivery drivers and double parking, a department spokeswoman told ARL Now. Police tried to "calm the situation down," the spokeswoman said, but one person wouldn't listen, started fighting with police, and was arrested. He was sent to a hospital to be checked for injuries and will likely be charged with disorderly conduct.

Read more about this developing story at ARL Now, because it's definitely too late to fight your way to a slice now.