The Rancherito’s Mexican Food restaurant in Draper, Utah was closed down after a customer filmed and employee urinating in the kitchen. (Picture: Facebook)

A Mexican diner has been forced to shut after a customer filmed one of its employees urinating in the kitchen.

The Racherito’s Mexican Food restaurant in Draper, Utah, was closed by the health department after video emerged on Facebook.

Robert Talivakola was in the restaurant’s drive-thru on Sunday morning when he saw the employee urinating. He said he was shocked by what he saw and he did not think others would believe him if he told them about the worker – so he began filming.

‘I love Rancherito’s. I’ve eaten their many times. It’s just kind of disturbing when you see this,’ Talivakola told KSL.




‘You kind of don’t want to go back. You kind of just like want to stay away. I honestly don’t think I’m going to eat at that location anymore.’

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Nicholas Rupp, who works with the Salt Lake City Health Department, said he received complaint about the video, so the department investigated.

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Health department officials later ‘confirmed that a food handler there (Rancherito’s) exhibited a disregard for food safety and acted inappropriately in a food preparation area.’

Investigators closed the restaurant after the health department ‘concluded definitively’ that the video was of an employee at the Rancherito’s in question.

The entire restaurant is now being sanitized and will reopen after management meets with the Food Protection Bureau and undergoes a ‘complete reinspection, including verification of employee training.’

Perla Lee, the chain’s manager, said the employee has been fired. The health department said they revoked the employee’s food handler permit.

Lee said: ‘This was just one person, and it does not represent who we are or what we do. So we definitely want to make sure they know that and that our customers are a priority.’

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