Sharks Have Been On A “Killing Spree” At The Coney Island Applebee’s
- “You belong at Applebee’s…”
So, we’ve been pretty on record as thinking the new Applebee’s that “grows” in Coney Island is a bad, possibly even destructive idea, and so far, it’s turned out to be sort of true. But not for the reasons anyone guessed—aside from the slow, subtle encroachment of chain restaurants on a historic neighborhood that never asked for them, the problem thus far has been shark attacks!
And also, shark accidents. Since Friday, there have been multiple incidents in the restaurant’s 5,000-gallon aquarium, one in which a Blacktip shark had to removed for what the Daily News terms a “shocking killing spree” (it ate three fish), and another in which a Whitetip shark crashed into the tank’s giant Wonder Wheel replica and died.
“[The sharks] were in shock. We moved them in too quickly,” explained the restaurant’s owner, Zane Tankel. “They went from being in an ocean to being in a tank. They were all disoriented.” Of the violent shark that had to be removed, Zane noted,” We are concerned about his health. The sharks are a big investment.”
Which doesn’t totally make sense, because that would kind of imply that an establishment like Applebee’s may have to rely on novelty to draw in customers, even at the expense of the health and safety of animals? Huh. Anyway, the whole thing was captured on film by the crew of an Animal Planet show called “Tanked,” so, video forthcoming, I suppose.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
