The line outside of ShopHouse on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by Christina Sturdivant)

If politics is the great divider, then free food is the great uniter—and it is getting a whole bunch of people back to their public libraries.

D.C. librarians reported a steady uptick in customers requesting new or replacement library cards yesterday in order to take advantage of a promotion from ShopHouse: anyone who flashed a library card yesterday was entitled to a free bowl of their choosing. Lines (and some shortages) were reported at many of the region’s eight locations of the Chipotle of Southeast Asian food as the day wore on.

Meanwhile, new library sign-ups more than tripled in the wake of the deal’s announcement, according to DCPL. Over the weekend, the library issued 196 cards on Saturday and 102 on Sunday. On Monday, the day the promotion was announced, it jumped to 441. On Tuesday, the library issued 685 new cards. And that isn’t including all the people who went in seeking replacements for lost cards.

DCPL similarly saw an uptick in customers seeking information online. About 130 people looked at their library card website page on Sunday; by Tuesday, that soared to 660 unique pageviews.

The promotion will continue for the remaining Tuesdays in October. In case you missed it, here’s that flyer.

ShopHouse updated flyer by Rachel Sadon on Scribd