Chicken ‘like rotten eggs’ at Popeyes in NJ, ex-worker claims
TOMS RIVER — A woman who worked at the local Popeye's restaurant took to social media with what she claims are unsanitary conditions at the recently opened store.
Despite the unappetizing kitchen and food photos that she shared, restaurant management says Taj Davis is a disgruntled former employee who should not be believed. The Ocean County Health Department, meanwhile, reported finding only "minor" violations during a recent inspection.
Taj Davis' post on Facebook had been shared more than 12,000 times with more than 3,000 comments on Tuesday. She claims the raw chicken that was being cooked smells "like rotten eggs" and "unimaginable." The pictures show what appears to be bugs on the food and dirty water and other messes in the restaurant's kitchen.
"Every shift I literally have to fight with bugs and gnats & these little black bugs which I were told were water bugs, but I really don't know what they are," Davis said in the post.
Davis also claims that a corporate employee sent her and other workers at the store pictures of his genitalia that he had taken when he went into a bathroom.
Brian Rumpf, director of the Ocean County Health Department, told the Toms River Patch that the restaurant was inspected on Monday morning after the department received complaints from Davis' post. Rumpf told the Patch that inspectors found minor violations that had "nothing to do with food."
A manager at the store told New Jersey 101.5 that Davis was a "bad" employee who often got in trouble for being on her phone. He said she did not get scheduled to work because of repeated issues and he believed that was why she got angry and put the post on social media.
A call to the franchise owner seeking comment was not returned Tuesday afternoon. An email to the Popeye's corporate office was also not returned.