Alligator joins drive-thru breakfast crowd at Bojangles in North Carolina, video shows

An apparently hungry alligator showed up with the breakfast crowd at a Bojangles on the North Carolina coast.

It happened Saturday, May 7, in Southport — about 160 miles southeast of Raleigh — and video shared on Facebook shows the alligator controlled the sidewalk while customers sat in their car.

Bart Gore was among the drivers waiting at the drive-thru that morning.

“Right before I got to the speaker to place my order, I noticed the alligator crossing the parking lot, heading towards the building,” Gore told McClatchy News.

“I was quite surprised. It didn’t seem like anyone really noticed him at first.”

Gore’s says the alligator eventually “laid down on the concrete” in front of the restaurant, as if waiting for its order.

It wasn’t clear what the sharp-toothed creature was after, Gore said. But Bojangles restaurants are known for emitting the alluring scent of spicy fried chicken and seasoned fries. The chain is based in Charlotte.

“Once people finally noticed (it), they kept plenty of space between him and them,” Gore said. “I filmed for just a moment and then continued on up to the speaker to order my breakfast.”

American alligators are native to southeastern North Carolina, and Gore suspects this one came from a pond across the street. It appeared to be about 4 feet long, which qualifies as a juvenile among a species known to reach 13 feet in North Carolina.

“He was still laying down in front of Bojangles when I left,” Gore says.

The video has gotten nearly 1,000 reactions and comments since being posted May 7 on Facebook, including offers to pay for the gator’s order — if he got it to go.

“Somebody get that gator a biscuit,” Heather Whitney Kuykendall posted.

“I would lose my ever loving mind if I saw that on the sidewalk!” Julie Martin wrote.

“Well it did say curbside pickup. Smart alligator,” Marian Rasmussen Nelke said.

This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 11:36 AM.