Like a slow motion disaster you can't turn away from, a chaotic scene unfolded at the Run Avenue location of Happy Bunny in Euphoria yesterday during their grand event, the much-anticipated return of their concert-themed line of smoothies!
Returning to the stage as a smoothie+protein bar+photo card combo, Happy Bunny heavily promoted the ten fan-favorite smoothies (special edition energy bars and the photo cards available exclusively as part of the Happy Bunny combo) across media and throughout cities with their iconic Happy Bunny food trucks, so fans were lining up well before the store's 8 AM opening, some arriving as early as 6 AM to secure a spot at the front of the line.
No surprise there, even without random endorsements from Vice-President Jeon on lives, Happy Bunny is in the top ten of all snack shops in the nation, and their addictive smoothies are top sellers year after year.
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By mid-morning, the crowd lining the blocks had grown to over 300 people eager to get their hands on the coveted drinks, many who'd already ordered and paid using the app.
However, within just a couple of hours of the store's opening, Happy Bunny made an announcement that sent this sweet smoothie train off the rails. At 10:15 am, an anxious-looking group of staffers stepped outside to announce they'd completely run out of the concert smoothies.
As expected, the response from the line was decidedly unhappy, and staff scrambled for explanations to give to their frustrated fans as those who'd waited for hours cried foul.
Also just as you might expect, lots of people waiting in line (many who had popular accounts with large followings) turned to their socials to post the latest update from the Happy Bunny line in Euphoria to every single one of their platforms, waking the algorithms up as hundreds of statuses were going from 😃🤩😊🥳 to 😠😲😥😡. But don't worry, readers, things can always get worse.
Like an insane arsonist unafraid of catching smoke, Happy Bunny tossed fuel to the fire, following their first announcement with another: Due to overwhelming traffic on their site and app, the store's payment system was "experiencing an issue", and they were unable to access the info to issue any refunds.
The heated sound the crowd made was a bit hair raising as people begin to crowd the front doors, and Hello Namkanda was on the scene...
“We waited for hours just to be told it’s gone!” said a Namkanda U sophomore who skipped classes to be at the launch. “I don't need a refund, dude, what I need are two Concert Crushes, one Strawberry Soundcheck and a Pineapple Stage Dive. I can't go back empty handed, bro. My roommates...they're intense."
"Exactly!" agreed a Cooky headband-wearing patron who overheard. "My whole house is obsessed. They're sooo good. After they stopped selling them we tried recreating the Encore and the Soundcheck recipes at home for like a year...it's impossible, we—"
"Please, I got eighteen ordered and paid for," (another patron jumped into the convo) "...it's the twins' birthday, we got the whole day planned out and every one of them is expecting one of these sets as a party favor, they been talking about this for months. Everybody knows we camped here for this, I can't NOT show up with them today, they're gonna lose their shit..."
Some lucky fans who got their combos met up at the park across from the store to enjoy their smoothies, show off their exclusive photo cards, and watch the chaos across the street unfold live.
As “no refunds” rushed through the lines like hot gossip and staffers struggled to manage the bristling crowd, they offered apologies and vouchers for other menu items, but the damage had been done. People took to the internet to vent, including some who posted themselves venting while slurping their very own concert smoothies, which only fueled agitation among those watching from further down the lines.
A variety of "Happy Bunny" hashtags trended across platforms, driving curious citizens to the site, increasing traffic on the already stressed Happy Bunny servers .
Inspired by the all the raised voices and prickly emotions, a few spirited content creators at the front of the line had the idea to make a video, so they climbed on top of two cars parked in front of the store and started an actual protest chant. When staff asked them to please get down, they refused, stating since they owned the cars, they had a right to stand on them if they wanted to.
Not to be left out, one agile onlooker eager to join the fun took an impressive, action movie-style running leap up onto a vehicle that was possibly not his at all. We wondered, because shouldn't he have known the car had a sun roof, left partially open? Everyone ducked for cover when the man's extra-large Backbeat Banana Bliss flew out of his hand, and hurtled through the air towards them like a hot mess as he shrieked, fell straight down into the car and became stuck, wedged in a bizarre manner where his top half twisted into car with his bottom half sticking out of the roof.
When attempts to pull him free from the locked car failed, the ambulance was called as onlookers streamed his predicament live.
Medics were able to safely rescue one Happy Bunner who caused his own freak accident outside the store.
Within the next half hour, the protest signs, (when did they bring the signs?) could be seen for several blocks by passing cars, who honked continuously in cheerful solidarity with the very vocal crowd.
"Protest at Happy Bunny" became the local breaking news; the app being inaccessible prompted some people to go to the Euphoria location to get a look for themselves.
It appeared the public was being made aware of the smoothie protest situation via social media and many were taking a little detour on their commutes for a bit of sightseeing. One passenger leaned out of her window as she passed the storefront to take pics of the crowd, “Mic Drop Mango is worth it! Fightingggg!!”, she screamed on her way off. The traffic jam made a sticky situation messier due to the people stopping their cars to jump out, run into the crowd to take selfies with protesters in front of the Happy Bunny logo, before jumping back into their cars again.
Not to leave empty handed, many walked away with fan-favorite Cooky Cream Dream, when their choice of Concert smoothie was unavailable.
Just as actual protest chants begin to rise to a crescendo, the sharp blip of caution sirens cut through the crowd noise. Euphoria Police has entered the chat.
Not only did the Crowd Control unit arrive to help the store manage the increasingly agitated crowd, but officers also had to take to their loud speakers to ask everyone present to please stop calling 117 and the emergency service lines to report "being robbed by Happy Bunny".
Euphoria's crowd control unit helped restore the lines and re-direct traffic, ensuring everyone had a chance at getting what they came for.
Informing the crowd that if they waited just a bit longer, the shortage issue would be resolved, officers helped the staff reform the crowd into a manageable line and sure enough, approximately 25 minutes after their arrival, one of their cars with lights flashing was seen rolling towards the store, followed by two large supply trucks.
According to officers who were on the scene in Golden City, there was an incident on Golden State Bridge that caused the bridge to be temporarily closed and traffic redirected. Happy Bunny's overnight delivery trucks had been caught up in the mayhem and held up for hours while they made their way to the store.
The Happy Bunny located on Koya Circle temporarily closed for one hour while staff assisted the overwhelmed Run Avenue location.
Our staffers here at Hello Namkanda also learned there was indeed an overnight glitch in the inventory system and a small miscommunication at shift change in the early morning hours at Happy Bunny, and the team arriving for the big day did not realize that the new inventory had not arrived, as there were still two other trucks being unloaded behind the store.
One thing led to another and then another and this series of unfortunate events led to the chaos that occurred several hours later.
However in short time, with the store replenished, the arrival of extra Happy Bunny staff from the Koya Circle location, and their food trucks working the line of customers winding around the blocks, smoothie combos were quickly distributed, and smiles and good vibes were restored as the line shrank to normal size.
As the line dwindled, patrons were back in good spirits at the Happy Bunny.
One Euphoria PD team member present who spoke with Hello Namkanda anonymously was glad to see the trucks as well.
"Not gonna lie, my captain ordered 30 of those Barricade Blasts, I was already on my way over here to pick them up. I was headed off duty so yeah, good timing lol."
(The officer said "LOL".)
Shortly after getting the tech issues with their sites resolved, Happy Bunny issued an explanation apologizing for the mishap, thanking their loyal customers for their patience and support, while inviting everyone to enjoy a free smoothie* on them, assuring there would be no more shortages.
After one patron's (known only as "Sunroof Guy") unfortunate mishap, several fans rallied around the Backbeat Banana Bliss to wish him well; he attempted to give the applauding crowd a thumbs up with his bandaged hand as he was rolled into the ambulance.
So drink up, citizens! At the time of this writing, this HN reporter has downed one Concert Crush, has one backup Mic Drop in the break room freezer and is this Save Me Energizing Protein Bar as amazing as everyone says? Can confirm.
*Offer valid on main menu smoothies only. Cannot be used on Concert Menu smoothies, protein bars or photo card sets.