Cape May's Lobster House flooded, and jokesters added lobsters swimming out to sea. The owner: "if it adds to the story, then go ahead."

Folks, every flood has a silver lining, and at the Lobster House in Cape May, N.J., it has claws. As tidewaters spread across the Jersey Shore during the weekend's nor'easter, one widely shared video showed a waterlogged dining room at the famous seafood restaurant, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Then internet jokesters enhanced the video, adding three lobsters serenely swimming out to sea. On Sunday, Sept. 27, people drove up to the restaurant and market, closed due to flooding, to look for any evidence of the great lobster jailbreak. "We've had people in Florida and Virginia ask us about it," Cape May resident Gary Bartlett said of the videos. His wife, Tracy Bartlett, said people are interested because the place is such a popular destination. "It's been around forever," she said. "My parents came here in the '40s." The flooding itself was no joke. Third-generation owner Keith Laudeman told the Inquirer that for three days the water outside inched up, with relentless northeast winds holding seawater in the inlet, and Saturday morning's high tide was the "icing on the cake" that sent floodwaters pouring through the front door. He has been through this before, after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Storm Jonas in 2016. His team will wash everything with freshwater, scrub it down with antimicrobial soap and replace the carpeting. He hopes to have the restaurant open within three days, with the fish market and coffee shop planned to open Monday. Now the landing. Asked whether his lobsters really made a break for open water, Laudeman left the door open, so to speak. "That's a little far-fetched," he said. "But if it adds to the story, then go ahead." Give the man credit: his dining room was underwater, and he still let the internet have its fun. Moral of the story, folks: when the water comes in, let the lobsters have their moment, then grab the mop.