'They're vicious': Aggressive seagulls force Sullivan's Castle Island to suspend outdoor dining
SOUTH BOSTON – Sullivan's Castle Island in Southie is a staple in the summer for a hot dog or lobster roll on a sunny day, but customers looking to sit and enjoy their food will have to find seats somewhere else for now.
Caution tape now surrounds the outdoor seating and signs sit on every table that warn "Beware Seagulls."
The restaurant has a policy.
"If you get attacked by a seagull and they take your food, we will remake your order for free," assistant general manager William Cummings told WBZ-TV.
This past weekend, however, the policy created a bottleneck of orders. So many bold birds were swooping in to steal customers' meals, Cummings says, the restaurant couldn't keep up with remaking old orders with the line of new orders too.
"People will think it's extreme, but it's not," Cummings said. "They're vicious. It's really crazy."
"The [seagulls] will perch up on those poles right there, end up on the roof, and they are like fighter jets like boom, boom, boom and they will come in and take all the old people's food and all of the children's food," he told WBZ. "It's crazy! We actually had a customer this year ended up getting a seagull in a headlock and fling around with it."
Even when WBZ showed up to the location on a rainy day, the seagulls were there eating food out of the trash.
For now, Sullivan's plan is to keep the outdoor dining closed in the hopes the seagulls will fly away and the tables can reopen next week.
"It's like a turf war over here," Cummings said. "I mean we came here second I guess. This is their territory. And they are trying to take it back clearly."