The Horrifying Thing Red Robin Employees Were Accused Of Doing To A Customer's Salad

One year ago this month, a Portland man dug into the salad he'd ordered at a nearby Clackamas Red Robin location, only to allegedly discover something so inappropriate, so horrible that the incident has left him traumatized to this day, according to a $1 million federal lawsuit filed earlier this month in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The lawsuit, which alleges battery, sexual abuse, negligence, and racial discrimination, was filed against Red Robin International, Inc. as well as the manager who was on duty at the time of the said incident (via Oregon Live). 

The attorney of record for this case is Oregon personal injury lawyer Jason Kafoury, who has established himself not only as an advocate for his clients but also as an activist in the area of campaign reform, per Anchorage Daily News. According to Kafoury, the plaintiff in this action, currently known only as "T.C." in court filings, had already eaten his way through what he described as "a decent amount" of his salad before making his "horrific" discovery – which is that the salad contained some quantity of what T.C. recognized as human semen. 

T.C., who was dining along with seven other family members, immediately was sickened. "He started vomiting," according to Kafoury, and later that night, he was diagnosed at a local hospital with both nausea and anxiety. One can only imagine what T.C. might have gone through when lab testing later confirmed the alleged semen was, in fact, human genetic material.

Oregon Live reports that the Red Robin customer seeking $1 million in damages has not only alleged battery, sexual abuse, and negligence on the part of Red Robin, including through the complicity of the on-duty manager at the time of the incident, but also racial discrimination. 

As reported by local Fox affiliate, Fox6, T.C. believes the semen was placed in the salad in "retaliation" for his complaining to the manager about the treatment of his party of eight. The octet largely consisted of Black people, whom T.C. felt were being treated differently from other large groups made up of mostly white customers. In response, the on-duty manager allegedly referred to the group as a "big gang," which T.C. further objected to.

What happened next, and who is responsible remains to be determined. Law enforcement has been attempting to ascertain the names of employees working during this particular shift so that it may obtain DNA samples from individuals. But it has been stymied by technical difficulties. Red Robin has not yet responded to questions emailed by Oregon Live, but it is known that the manager is not accused of placing the semen there, himself. Red Robin has struggled under the weight of lawsuits in the past. Perhaps time will tell if this case impacts the brand in some fashion as well.