A Chili’s Grill & Bar in North Carolina is back in business after three customers and two workers suffered chemical burns on their mouths from sipping margaritas mistakenly made with a cleaning chemical last week.
The eatery in Forest City was shut down Thursday after the customers, who had ordered the drinks shortly after the restaurant opened for lunch, “immediately experienced discomfort and chemical burns in and around their mouths,” the Foothills Health District said in a statement.
“Two restaurant employees subsequently tasted the substance and reported similar symptoms,” the statement said.
It was reopened the next day after local health inspectors discovered that a worker “preparing the bar for lunch service discovered the unlabeled container and, believing its contents to be sugar, used the chemical to prepare the margarita station.”
Chili’s, according to its menu, offers several margaritas that are made with a “citrus-sugar rimmer” in addition to the traditional salt.
Health District spokesperson Megan Rollins said in an email the investigation was closed and no fines were issued. She said the injured people received medical treatment, but she had no information about their conditions.
A Chili’s spokesperson said in an email that it was an “incident isolated to a single restaurant in Forest City, North Carolina, that resulted in injuries to two of our guests and Team Members.”
“Our team took immediate action to support those affected and avoid further injuries,” the spokesperson said. “We have thoroughly investigated the circumstances and addressed the issues specific to this location.”
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The spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up question seeking an explanation for why Chili’s tally of injured customers was different from the one the Health District provided earlier.
The Chili’s is about 60 miles west of Charlotte.
On the morning of Oct. 26, according to the Health District statement, “a restaurant employee received a granulated degreasing chemical from a contracted worker who was power washing the exterior, and placed it into an unlabeled container.”
For unclear reasons, “the container was brought inside the restaurant and left in the bar area.”
Two days later, the chemicals were inadvertently added to margaritas.
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