Man Sues Olive Garden After Allegedly Finding Rat Foot in His Soup
A man claims to have had a horrifying restaurant experience that will make your stomach churn.
TODAY reports that Michigan resident Thomas Howie filed a complaint against Olive Garden on Aug. 18 for "failure to maintain premises free of vermin and the negligent preparation and service of food," alleging that he found a rat's foot in his minestrone soup at the Warren location of the Italian restaurant chain.
In his complaint, Howie claimed that he went out to dinner with two friends on March 11. As starters, he ordered a bowl of minestrone soup and breadsticks. He recalled that the soup was filled with "large chunks of tomatoes" and at one point, "he felt a stabbing pain in his mouth."
The suit notes that Howie "tried to swallow, but an object was hooked into the right side of his cheek." When he spat out the object, one of his friends realized what it was and covered it up with a napkin. When Howie, who was curious, pulled up the napkin, he "saw the leg of a rodent, hairy and clawed. He threw up."
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The man claimed that he and the other diners accompanying him alerted management, but the staff "did not seem to take the matter seriously." Allegedly, they denied that it could have been a rat's foot, saying, "That's funny. We don't even put meat in minestrone."
Howie was able to snap a photo of the foot, shared by TODAY, which shows it next to other minestrone soup ingredients, including beans and the aforementioned tomatoes.
After Olive Garden allegedly failed to properly address the situation, Howie reported the incident to the Warren police, who went to the restaurant and took a report. Howie also received medical treatment at an urgent care, where was "given a shot to protect against tetanus and diphtheria, prescribed oral antibiotics for a cut on the inside of his cheek, and given a mouthwash typically used to treat gingivitis."
He noted in the suit that he has "become paranoid about dining at any restaurant where he cannot closely observe his food being prepared." Howie is seeking up to $25,000 in damages for both the physical injury and "mental anguish and emotional distress."
In a statement shared with TODAY, a spokesperson for Darden Restaurants, which is Olive Garden's parent company, denied the disturbing incident, saying, "We have no reason to believe there is any validity to this claim."
Olive Garden also denied the claims, pointing out that the photo of the foot "shows no signs that it underwent a cooking process, nor does it show any signs of taking on any red color consistent with the red base of its minestrone." It also provided the publication with a copy of a Food Service Establishment Inspection Report completed two days after the alleged meal, which found "no evidence of rodents in the facility."
Howie's lawyers Daniel A. Gwinn and Laura Bradshaw-Tucker of firm Gwinn Legal PLLC also shared a statement standing by their client. "We tried to work this out and avoid litigation, but Olive Garden refuses to acknowledge the serious nature of the incident, the threat food contamination poses to public health, and the ongoing harm Mr. Howie is experiencing," they said.
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