COLUMBUS, Ohio — One day after a West Columbus mother found a ‘crack pipe’ in her McDonald’s to-go food bag, the restaurant reopened.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ohio McDonald’s shut down; crack pipe found in order, customer says
“I reached in to get my sandwich and it was right next to it, I pulled it out to see what it was and that was it,” she said.
The woman who found the paraphernalia in her to-go bag wishes to remain anonymous but wants to share her story to warn others and protect kids like her own.
“I just couldn’t believe it and I was upset because I buy my kids happy meals from there all the time. It’s the closest one to my house. You know they were at school, so we didn’t have their food in there, but it easily could have been a kid’s bag of food. It is really upsetting,” she said.
After she found the ‘crack pipe’ in her bag, she went back to the McDonald’s to speak with a supervisor.
According to documents acquired by our media partners WBNS-10TV, the supervisor went to the customer’s vehicle to take their information, and after the supervisor went back inside the customer walked up to the drive-thru window to ask about a resolution. The customer left after the supervisor contacted the police.
The customer also filed a complaint with the Columbus Public Health, which prompted an inspection and ultimately closed the restaurant for a day.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ohio McDonald’s reopens after ‘emergency notice’ to close; customer says ‘crack pipe’ found in order
Columbus Public Health found the restaurant to be in unsanitary conditions. The following day, the restaurant passed the reinspection and was able to reopen.
The McDonald’s franchisee Alex Mendoza stated our media partners in Columbus, WBNS-10TV, regarding the ‘crack pipe’ and reads:
“…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.”
— Alex Mendoza
“I hope that they start paying more attention, be more careful with who they hire and what’s going on back there,” the woman said.