INWOOD — A Slurpee snafu froze Inwood fans of the icy drink out of a free giveaway.
As millions of the syrupy refreshments were given away in a nationwide celebration of 7-Eleven's 84th anniversary this week, the taps ran dry in the chain's Dykman Street store.
The machine's malfunction caused outrage among overheated uptown residents.
“Leave it to #Inwood's 7-11 to have an 'Out of Order' Slurpee machine on 'Free Slurpee Day', right?” tweeted resident Jim Swimm.
Many Slurpee fans sparked conspiracy theories, finding it suspicious that the tap — which was apparently flowing freely at 1 a.m. Monday — ran dry when the pricetag disappeared.
“Stinkers!,” wrote Slurpee fan J. Holtham on Twitter. “It was working just fine last night.”
“What the hell, @7eleven? Brand-new store—only one in #Inwood—residents all happy [about] free Slurpees—and they fake a 'not in service?' #badPR,” Keith Snyder tweeted.
Owner Jake Saleemi, who lives in Inwood and has worked with 7-Eleven for 11 years, said the machines were operating early in the day.
He estimates that the shop gave away approximately 1,000 7.11 ounce cups. They usually cost $1.84 each.
Then the machine broke down early in the afternoon.
“The radio stations were blasting it all over, so many people who don’t normally come in came in for drinks,” he said of the broadly advertised event, which aimed to give away 5 million Slurpees.
“We usually sell 100 to 200 Slurpees a day, the machines couldn’t take it.”
Free Slurpee fiasco or none, by Tuesday morning the machine was back in order, and Inwood residents were already planning to get their sugary fix.
“I’m not going to let anything get between me and my Slurpee," said Washington Heights resident Marty Guzman, who said he planned to buy one after he finished his lunch.
"They're the best part of summer."
