17 Favorite Restaurants Chains With The Darkest Secrets

Do you ever just mosey into an Olive Garden late at night after a long day looking for a big ol’ bowl of unlimited salad (with breadsticks, obvs) and $5 wine? Yeah, same here. I may be Sicilian, and my ancestors may be rolling in their graves right now, but I love me some Olive Garden. Look, I’m also from New Jersey and chain restaurants kind of just have my heart. I don’t really care what you think — but I do care about the dirty, dark secrets these restaurants keep.

Remember when Chipotle’s sneezy employees got everyone sick with the Norovirus? Yeah, that’s not a good look. Whenever I see that guacamole, I think, “nose goo?” Now I’ve ruined it for you, too.

But how many other not-so-deliciously dark secrets are restaurants keeping? A lot. It seems, according to truth-dishing employees over at Reddit, that almost every single beloved restaurant chain has something dirty and dark going on behind closed doors. We’re not sure if these are myths, facts, or something in between — but here’s what people say:

1. Pizza Hut may have contaminated your sweet tea.

It’s really up to the employees to stop gross things from happening, as evidenced by one Pizza Hut employee who intervened when someone with dirty, “flaky” hands contaminated the sweet tea:

Think that was nasty? Get ready for the “black mold” situation:

“Worked at a Pizza Hut. Black mold growing in the soda fountain. The manager refused to get it cleaned because it was too expensive,” one commenter wrote.

2. Jersey Mike’s does some gross things to your food.

Sometimes, sadly, the gross things we encounter at our favorite chain spots aren’t due to laziness or accidents. Sometimes the waiters actually have it out for you. In fact, this happened at Jersey Mikes a lot, according to one Reddit employee whose story is truly too gruesome to share here. 

3. McDonald’s has a creepy way of treating customers.

Restaurant employees might let gnarly things happen to the food, but they definitely shouldn’t be indoctrinating customers.

One Reddit commenter shared a creepy story of how McDonald’s employees were told to keep their eyes open for kids who could be made into loyal customers:

4. Your food is microwaved at Applebee’s.

Let’s start with one employee’s proclamation that Applebee’s microwaves their food. Yep — I had no idea. I sincerely thought the cooks were back there frying up my food. Nope.

This big chain is *supposedly* popping our dinners into a heat box.

So when you say you want your meat “pink” or “not pink,” it’s about the microwave.

5. There are dirty dishes covered in old salad at Chili’s.

Over at Chili’s, one Reddit commenter mentioned something about, ahem, dirty dishes covered in salad and then wiped clean. No thank you.

Oh, and the chefs apparently don’t use gloves.

6. A certain Tex-Mex restaurant apparently “runs on drugs and alcohol.”

Think that’s bad? They also keep food sitting around for hours (which they’ve made ahead of time), and waste tons and tons of plastic.

Oh, and their food all comes from bags.

7. The lemonade isn’t exactly fresh at Panera.

Here’s another response from a Panera employee who told us the saddest thing: The “fresh-squeezed lemonade” isn’t fresh at all, and it’s actually kind of barely even “lemonade,” for that matter.

It’s — you guessed it — made from CONCENTRATE.

For such a popular chain that seems to message the whole, “healthier” menu options branding, you’d think concentrate wouldn’t be the go-to. Right?

8. There are “meat tubes” at Taco Bell.

So, what’s this, we hear, about a “meat tube” at Taco Bell? Excuse us as we go ahead and never eat there again….

Apparently, one employee cleared up the “meat tube” myth by saying:

“Meat comes premade in bags that then get boiled, sous vide style, once done the bag is opened and the contents put into a serving pan. When ordered the meat is then scooped using a spoodle, literally a spoon / ladle. The ground beef spoodle is shaped to allow for easy filling and distribution in the crunchy tacos hard shell.”

I’m not sure if a “beef spoodle” sounds any more appetizing, but maybe I’m the only one.

9. IHOP has a problem with bananas.

Food cleanliness is probably the #1 thing you think about when you go out to eat. I know I do. Seeing a fork with grime on it or a sandwich with hair in it is enough to turn my stomach, but this is next-level bananas:

10. Employees at chain restaurants are just lazy about cleaning.

Not all employees! Just some, according to one chain restaurant manager.

So why does this even happen? One commenter attempts to explain that even with the industrial dishwashers, people just get lazy. Pro-tip:

If you want to keep your lunch, don’t look too closely at your utensils or dishware!

11. The hand-made ice cream at Cold Stone isn’t exactly hand-made.

Have you ever enjoyed a nice creamy ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery on a hot summer afternoon? One of the reasons the chain appeals to people so much is its messaging around “hand-made” ice cream. Well, not so fast. It’s not exactly hand-made.

At least this secret isn’t super gross.

Oh, wait — I spoke too soon. It is super gross.

12. Employees do whip-its with the whipped cream at Starbucks.

Can we talk about the number of employees who use whipped cream dispensers as whip-its to get a nitrous oxide buzz? Yeah. This is a thing — and apparently, it happens at places like Starbucks. Now, Starbucks isn’t perfect, but this is unexpected.

And it’s not just chain restaurants, either, sadly. One commenter wrote:

“Our former head chef was a cokehead who would inhale the aerosol from the whipped cream while he worked. So not only was he high while cooking your food, he would put the whipped cream back so the servers would use it when making milkshakes. That is just the tip of the iceberg.”

13. The salad is questionable at Olive Garden.

You’d think the basic issues, like food contamination and getting high on whipped cream, would be the worst of it. Apparently, old, old food is an issue as well. This breaks my heart, considering my insatiable desire to eat Olive Garden’s delicious, unending salad bowl.

Pro-tip: Don’t get anything with shredded lettuce. Just don’t do it!

14. Subway has a thing for REALLY OLD food.

Over at one Subway, a cost-aware manager used to keep food even longer. We’re talking a year or more.

15. Even fancy restaurants have their flaws.

Like tasting the soup with the same spoon they’re stirring your soup with.

I mean, isn’t that what all good chefs do? (No, thanks!)

16. Perkin’s makes your breakfast eggs from a bucket.

This alleged bucket is filled with mixed eggs and is added to throughout the day. Yep — your eggs aren’t cracked; they’re scooped from a bucket of eggy liquid. Ugh.

17. Winn-Dixie’s antipasto is made from expired meat and cheese.

The employees are apparently told to cover it in dressing and smell it to make sure it seems okay.

In the end, you need to be careful where and when you eat. Restaurants are run by people — and some people, unfortunately, are not interested in creating a pleasant or clean environment. But there are some things you can do, like hit up your favorite chains on Thursdays when the food is fresh.

Or, you know, you could never leave your house again — in which case, I would not blame you.

Bon appetit!