- A customer filed a complaint with the public health department when he discovered a crack pipe in his drive-through order
- The restaurant was ordered closed after inspectors found a slew of violations
- The location reopened just two days after the customer's complaint
A Columbus McDonald's has reopened just two days after a customer reported finding a crack pipe with his McMuffin breakfast sandwich.
Health inspectors went to the fast-food restaurant at 619 Harrisburg Pike on Wednesday after a Columbus man filed a complaint about the disturbing surprise.
The man claimed he and his girlfriend discovered a crack pipe in his McDonald's bag Tuesday morning after getting a breakfast order at the restaurant's drive-thru.
The customer posted about the experience on Reddit, writing, “Ordered breakfast at the drive-thru and found a crack pipe in the bag. Inform the manager and he insists that no one smokes crack, as far as he knows. Luckily I'm an adult and not a child opening a Happy Meal.'
A McDonald's location in Columbus was ordered closed after a customer found a crack pipe in his drive-thru breakfast order
The man said he was offered a refund but declined, saying he was just trying to draw staff attention to the issue as a parent concerned about children's health.
According to documents from Columbus Public Health, a supervisor went to the customer's car to retrieve their information. After the supervisor went inside, the customer walked to the drive-thru window to ask for a solution.
In his Reddit post, the man said he was offered a refund but declined, adding that he was just trying to draw attention to the issue as a parent concerned about children's health.
Documents show the customer left after the supervisor contacted police.
However, no officers ever arrived. The man claimed he called Columbus police himself and “they said there was nothing they could do, that I had to get a lawyer and file charges.”
A day later, public health officials visited to conduct an inspection. They reported finding multiple health code violations due to construction work on the seating area, front desk service counter and beverage service station.
Construction workers moved freely through the food preparation and customer seating areas, the report said. In addition, a protective barrier was removed from the front service area and never replaced after the work was completed.
The document notes the presence of dust, dirt, screws and unassembled computer equipment on “beverage service equipment,” including the Frappucino machine, frozen drink machine and coffee maker. Personal cell phones were also seen on the grill.
Overall, the food “was not protected from environmental sources of contamination during preparation,” the report said.
The restaurant was issued an emergency notice for violation and ordered to close.
Health inspectors went to the fast-food restaurant at 619 Harrisburg Pike on Wednesday after a Columbus man filed a complaint about the disturbing surprise
The restaurant reopened a day later, with franchise owner Alex Mendoza claiming the closure was related to a “dust issue” and had nothing to do with the customer complaint.
A statement from McDonald's said the restaurant reopened Thursday after receiving approval from the health department.
Franchise owner Alex Mendoza told the Columbus Dispatch that the closure was due to “a dust issue” from the structure and had nothing to do with the crack pipe.
The customer's complaint comes amid a wave of drug-related crime in the city.
Authorities continue to battle illegal drug gangs through a multi-agency crackdown codenamed 'Operation Unity'.
The most recent period, which ended on August 4, saw 43 arrests and the seizure of more than 500 grams of illegal drugs.
There have been 567 overdose deaths in Franklin County, Ohio, this year, according to data from the city of Columbus. That figure is lower than the 753 deaths last year.