McDonald's Shut After 'Crack Pipe' Found in Food Bag

A McDonald's in Columbus, Ohio, has been temporarily closed after a customer complained of receiving what appeared to be a "crack pipe" in their drive-thru meal on Wednesday.

City health inspectors have given the outlet at 619 Harrisburg Pike, which sits on Route 63 to the southwest of the city, until January 3 to correct a number of violations they witnessed while attending the location following the complaint.

Columbus Public Health provided Newsweek with documents that show an emergency order to close was signed by an attending inspector and the restaurant was ordered not to reopen until it had been re-inspected.

A spokesperson said it had closed the McDonald's "due to [a] failure to protect equipment and food from contamination," adding: "The health and safety of Columbus residents is our top priority."

In an inspection report, managers of the fast-food joint detailed the incident involving the alleged crack pipe, while public health officials said ongoing construction work at the store had left debris "heavily present throughout the facility."

It said that around 9:15 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the customer ordered two breakfast meals, which were placed in a double-folded bag and passed through the drive-thru window. At 10:18 a.m., the customer returned to the drive-thru window "to advise that a crack pipe was found in [the] bag."

A 20-year-old McDonald's employee then went out to the vehicle to collect the customer's details, but 12 minutes later the customer returned to the window on foot to inquire "about resolution." The employee then contacted the police and the customer left the premises.

According to the public health inspection report, managers of the restaurant said the police did not respond to the report and that the franchise owner, The Mendoza Company, would update its employee manual "to address situations similar in nature to this incident."

The customer allegedly posted on Reddit about their experience, saying they "didn't get [a] refund" and had no intention to sue. They added: "Thankful it happened to me and not a kid."

In a statement, Alex Mendoza, the local McDonald's franchisee, stressed that the temporary closure "was not in any way related to the customer's report of a crack pipe."

He told Newsweek: "As a local business owner here in Columbus, the safety of my customers and crew is my first priority, and we take this very seriously.

"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."

Public health officials who attended the McDonald's store on Wednesday afternoon said they observed "heavy construction being performed on the restaurant seating area, front service counter, beverage service station" and construction workers "moving freely through the food prep areas and the customer seating area."

They also noted that "debris, trash and dust" were present throughout the building and that a protective barrier had been removed when tiling work had begun on the service area had been done.

"Beverage service equipment such as [the] soda dispenser, frappuccino machine, frozen beverage dispenser, coffee machine had dust, debris, screws, unassembled computer equipment, wooden trim pieces on the top surfaces," the report said, adding inspectors "observed personal cell phones on top of the grill."

It recounted that managers said employees had been aware that "no personal items are allowed in the food service areas" aside from personal cell phones, which "must remain in pockets," and that "no unauthorized individuals are allowed to be in food service areas."

"We temporarily closed this restaurant after a health department inspection identified a dust issue related to an ongoing remodel project in our lobby," Mendoza said. "We have taken immediate action to remedy this matter and expect to resume normal operations today."

Update 12/21/23, 10:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from a Columbus Public Health spokesperson and McDonald's franchise owner Alex Mendoza, as well as further details.