Lambert’s, self-proclaimed ‘home of throwed rolls,’ sued by customer allegedly hit in eye

A St. Louis woman has sued restaurant chain Lambert’s Cafe — which calls itself the “Home of Throwed Rolls” — because she says she suffered “serious and permanent personal injuries” because of the chain’s practice of throwing bread rolls to customers.

Troy Tucker is seeking at least $25,000 from the Sikeston-based chain, which has a location in Ozark.

In the lawsuit, Tucker says she “sustained a lacerated cornea with a vitreous detachment and all head, neck, eyes and vision were severely damaged” when she dined at the Sikeston Lambert’s location on Sept. 20, 2014.

“Defendant Lambert’s, by and through its employees, agents and officers knew or should have known that by throwing bread rolls at customers there was a possible risk of injury to diners, especially injuries to their head, neck, face and eyes,” the lawsuit reads.

“Defendant Lambert’s breached its duty by promoting this dangerous practice of throwing rolls at diners, and failed to adequately train its employees on how to do same without posing a danger to its dining customers,” the lawsuit continues.

Tucker says she has incurred medical expenses of about $10,000 and “may have future medical expenses in an amount yet to be determined.”

The general manager of the Ozark Lambert’s location explained how the practice started in a 2014 News-Leader story.

“The original (restaurant) was a very small cafe and it was crowded one day for lunch, and Norman Lambert was going through passing out rolls, but he couldn’t get through the cafe, and a customer said, ‘throw it to me,’ and that’s how it got started,” Andy Mills told the News-Leader.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday. As of Thursday morning, Lambert’s had not filed an answer to the suit. Asked by the News-Leader if the chain had a comment, a representative responded: “No sir, we don’t. We sure don’t.”