Kokomo Taco Bell under investigation after report of in-restaurant haircut
KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) — A Kokomo Taco Bell is under investigation after a photo of an employee receiving an in-restaurant haircut
In a Facebook post shared on Thursday, Jen LeGear, a former Taco Bell employee, said she was fired after a photo she took of the general manager receiving a haircut from a shift manager was sent to “a few people” and got leaked.
The ex-employee said she took a picture because she “thought it was f-ing weird,” and it “shouldn’t have been happening.”
LeGear later told I-Team 8 in an interview that it was “upsetting” that her higher-ups would do this. She says the haircut took place just a few feet from the food prep area of the kitchen.
“They were in the back of the store, about three feet from where we made the food on the line,” she said. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, I’ve never seen anything like it before in my ten years of working in the food industry.”
LeGear identified the Taco Bell as the one on West Sycamore Street. Roger Stephens owns a barber shop a few blocks from the Taco Bell, and says there’s a real reason why barber shops won’t let customers bring in food and drinks when getting a haircut.
“A lot of it has to do with everyday environments and people’s heads, you know? You have dandruff, you have all kinds of hair problems, and you certainly don’t want it in your food. You don’t want to eat that,” he said.
The Howard County Health Department told News 8 in a statement that a complaint about that Taco Bell was submitted to their office on Thursday, and a health inspection followed on Friday morning.
The office did not say if the complaint was connected to the original post.
“The restaurant was inspected for compliance with State Food Code 410 IAC 7-24 and Howard County ordinance, and the complaint was discussed with management at that time,” the health department said.
State Food Code 410 IAC 7-24 covers regulations for locations that serve food.
LeGear says she has been offered a position at another Taco Bell location in Kokomo, but isn’t sure if she will take it. She says she would like to see Taco Bell take responsibility for what happened.
The health department told News 8 that Taco Bell has not responded to the report in writing as of Monday.