WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Thomas Howie, 54, said he found an unexpected item in his soup when he ate at Olive Garden in Warren on Van Dyke in March. Subsequently, he's filed a lawsuit in Macomb County Circuit Court.
“I found a rat’s foot in my soup, minestrone soup," the Madison Heights resident said. “I felt something stab me in my cheek and I thought it was a needle or, you know, your first reaction’s something sharp. So, I was thinking needle and I almost choked on it," Howie described.
After spitting it out, he said he called over management.
“One was very nice and cooperative. The other one made a joke. Actually, a very rude joke. He actually said, 'That’s funny. We don’t serve meat in our minestrone,'" he said.
But Howie said he felt it was no laughing matter and then called the police to the establishment after he said no one from the restaurant offered any assistance.
He said his next stop was an urgent care.
“Got a tetanus shot. I think he did some blood work, gave me an antibiotic mouth rinse," Howie recalled.
Before filing the lawsuit, which requests more than $25,000 in damages, Howie's attorney Daniel Gwinn said he and his client made multiple attempts for weeks to try to resolve the issue with Olive Garden.
“Something reasonable and fair to compensate him for the injury that he suffered both physically and mentally, and we were unable to come to any type of agreement with Olive Garden," Gwinn told 7 Action News.
7 Action News reached out to Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden, for comment.
An Olive Garden spokesperson said, “We have no reason to believe there is any validity to this claim.”
In response, Howie said, “It’s just disturbing. Because I know what happened.”
Referring to a document from the Macomb County Health Department, Gwinn said he contacted the health department, which made contact with the restaurant. He said the restaurant then contacted its supplier, and the supplier stated it doesn't have a vermin issue.
From here, Gwinn said he's confident in the judicial system to prove his case.
