30 People Ejected From Michigan Hotel After Fight Over Waffle Maker Escalates

PERE MARQUETTE TWP., Mich. (WWJ) - A fight over a self-serve waffle maker got heated at a West Michigan hotel over Memorial Day weekend.

Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole said more than two dozen people — including a group from Canton Township and another from Chicago — were forced to leave the America's Best Value Inn in Pere Marquette Township following the incident Sunday morning.

"Apparently there was a line at the waffle maker, and a couple of people felt an individual had cut in line, and that sparked a verbal argument," Cole told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeill.

"One lady walked up to another lady and asked if she was in line for the waffle maker thing and the lady never answered her," Cole said. "So the first lady went and made a waffle, and when she went to go and take it this other gal tried to take it from her and that started the fight over the waffle."

Cole said the heated dispute quickly escalated and police were called in after around 30 people became involved.

Race may have played a role.

"The second lady was of Middle Eastern decent," Cole explained, "and some comments were made about her not understanding English."

In the end, there were no arrests — but deputies stood by to supervise as all of the guests involved were kicked off the property.

Cole said they were unhappy, to put it mildly.

"The hotel rooms up here are no cheap and they're not readily available on weekends," he said, adding that — while a fight over waffles may seem funny, as far as he's concerned this was no laughing matter.

"We had two-thirds of our road patrol tied up on this fiasco," Cole said.

No one was injured.