LongHorn Steakhouse staff’s roach complaints were ignored by management. So he exposes the restaurant’s disgusting and ‘inhumane’ kitchen

A LongHorn Steakhouse employee in Atlanta claimed to have repeatedly made complaints about the hazardous state of their restaurant’s kitchen, only to be allegedly dismissed by management. With his concerns growing, he seemingly took matters into his own hands and exposed the kitchen he described as “inhumane” in a video.

Sean Headley, an employee at LongHorn Steakhouse at its Camp Creek Parkway location in Atlanta, Georgia, reportedly shared footage featuring the inside of the restaurant’s kitchen online. In the video shared by FOX 5 Atlanta, the kitchen appeared to be in a state of disarray, with trash and equipment haphazardly strewn over the dirty counters and floors.

At one point, ingredients and meat can also be seen exposed and not properly stored. The video also showed a piece of cooked steak next to raw meat placed on a storage rack without a plate or container and surrounded by boxes.

The restaurant passed health inspection

If that wasn’t enough to draw concern from guests, Headley also shared footage of roaches infesting the kitchen. Based on the video alone, LongHorn Steakhouse seemed to have several health code violations, including cross-contamination, improper food storage, and poor kitchen sanitation, among others.

“Really, it was the work environment and the conditions that we were working in. There were a lot of inhumane conditions,” Headley said. “We couldn’t work under these conditions.”

According to Headley, who started working at LongHorn Steakhouse in April, he repeatedly requested the managers to provide staff with basic tools they needed. He claimed to have also reached out to corporate offices to raise health concerns at the location.

Despite Headley’s attempts, his reports were supposedly brushed aside. “When I spoke to the managers, I was like, ‘Hey, is it possible for us to get the tools to succeed?’” Headley said. “They were like, ‘This guy is a goodie two-shoes.’” While some of the managers did try to implement changes, Headley said that accountability from LongHorn Steakhouse’s parent company, Darden Restaurants, was what was really needed.

Reportedly, the restaurant received an “A” score in its latest health inspection on August 25. However, how the score came to be has yet to be clarified based on the video shown. “I would like more health inspector visitations. Not just for LongHorn, but for all Darden Restaurants,” Headley said.

LongHorn Steakhouse responds

It wasn’t until Headley shared the videos online and quickly became viral that corporate offices were finally prompted to respond. A representative of the restaurant’s corporate offices said the conditions shown in the videos were “unacceptable” and that the issue “have been addressed.”

“We continue to take the necessary steps to ensure a safe experience for our Guests and Team Members,” Carly Maddock, the representative, said. They added that a new leader had been placed to oversee the restaurant and to “ensure our strict standards are maintained.”

Viewers did not take kindly upon finding out the state of the restaurant’s kitchen. One viewer noted that the video should be enough to stop anyone from wanting to dine out, saying, “Our daily example to not eat out.” Some were more baffled by how the restaurant passed inspection. “No way that could’ve passed a health and safety inspection just 2 weeks ago,” a viewer said.

With the restaurant receiving an “A” and passing health inspections just three weeks ago, viewers believe an investigation into the inspector is also needed. “Whoever their local health inspector is should also be fired,” one viewer said. Another added, “The Dept. of Health probably needs a few surprise inspections.” Nevertheless, this incident is hopefully a wake-up call for restaurants to take health codes more seriously.

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