A McDonald’s establishment in Ohio, USA, closed its doors following the discovery of drug paraphernalia in a customer’s takeout order. The incident came to light when the customer anonymously shared the experience on Reddit. According to the post, the customer visited the McDonald’s outlet in Columbus on a Tuesday morning and placed an order for two breakfast meals through the drive-thru window.
Approximately one hour later, the customer revisited McDonald’s after discovering a crack pipe in the bag of food. A crack pipe is commonly employed for smoking crack cocaine, a prohibited narcotic for recreational use in nearly all countries worldwide.
A 20-year-old McDonald’s employee approached the customer’s vehicle to collect his details, as reported by Newsweek. However, the customer chose not to accept a refund and instead informed Franklin County Public Health about his discovery.
On Wednesday, health officials shut down the McDonald’s establishment after discovering multiple violations of health codes, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch.
According to the inspector’s report, construction workers were observed moving unrestrictedly within the restaurant, resulting in the deposition of “construction dust on surfaces of food preparation counters, equipment, and flooring.”
“Beverage service equipment such as soda dispenser, frappucino machine, frozen beverage dispenser, coffee machine had dust, debris, screws, unassembled computer equipment, wooden trim pieces on the top surfaces,” the report stated. “There was no protective barrier between the construction area and the food service area,” it added.
Alex Mendoza, the proprietor of the local McDonald’s franchise, informed Newsweek that the closure of the restaurant was unrelated to the presence of the crack pipe.
“We’ve undertaken a thorough internal review of the customer’s claim. After reviewing security footage and interviewing employees, we’ve found nothing that suggests this item came from the restaurant—but we are continuing to investigate and have contacted local law enforcement to report the matter,” he said.
The outlet has until January 3 to correct the health code violations it has been accused of.