Most people who go out to eat at restaurants don’t really think about what’s happening behind the scenes, like how the staff prepares the food or even how they store it.
You might catch a glimpse if a member of the staff leaves the kitchen door or if a restaurant intentionally shows it off, but for the most part, it stays out of sight.
One family dining at Olive Garden, however, came across something they weren’t expecting, right in their booth.
In a video that has garnered over 146,900 views, TikTok account @carlos.avila shows what they describe as a “secret stash.” It’s several bottles of liquids they found inside the booth they were sitting on.
“When you find Olive Garden’s secret stash,” they wrote in the video’s text overlay.
Commenters Think It’s Problematic
In the comments section, some viewers thought it could put them in trouble with public health officials.
“Health code violation,” one person wrote. “You can’t store food products that close to the ground.”
Viewers claiming to be Olive Garden workers also shared their thoughts. “We put our Christmas decorations in there at my location,” another said.
“LMFAO THIS IS SO FUNNY ME AND MY COWORKER JUST FOUND A BOX OF OLD MENUS UNDER ONE OF OUR BOOTHS,” a third wrote.
“This is done at a lot of restaurants,” a fourth added.
“My girl gonna make me do a few trips back to the car frfr,” another joked.
Is This a Common Way for Restaurants to Store Ingredients?
From the footage alone, it’s unclear what kind of ingredient we’re looking at. It could be an alcoholic beverage, cooking oil, syrup, or another liquid ingredient.
Restaurants do have to follow certain rules to properly store food and comply with the Food Code set by the Food and Drug Administration.
Some examples include making sure there’s enough airflow in the storage space, since a lack of circulation can lead to quicker spoilage. Things like elevation also matter; in most states, restaurants must store ingredients around 6 inches above the ground.
Of course, you also want to make sure to store the ingredients at their proper temperatures and that the area remains clean and easy to maintain.
Things do, however, get a little more relaxed when it comes to alcohol. While it is considered “food,” restaurants still need to comply with the same general rules, but factors like temperature don’t matter as much. Restaurants can store unopened bottled drinks in a dark, clean place, which would generally be acceptable.
Are Olive Garden Restaurants Usually Clean?
According to several reviewers on Trustpilot, not always. Customers complain of things like dirty glasses, dirty silverware, and servers using dirty cloths to clean tables.
However, according to self-reported Olive Garden workers on Reddit, the kitchens are usually clean. One even wrote that it was “one of the cleanest kitchens” they’d ever worked in.
BroBible reached out to Olive Garden via email and @carlos.avila083 via TikTok messages for comment and additional information.