Chinese restaurant 'caught wheeling roadkill deer into kitchen in bin'

Stomachs turned at a Chinese restaurant in Kentucky last week when in the middle of enjoying a buffet lunch, customers noticed a rubbish bin full of roadkill being wheeled into the kitchen.

Locals and regulars of the Red Flower Restaurant in Williamsburg couldn't believe their eyes as they watched the owner's son and an employee pushing a clumsily concealed deer carcass through the dining room as it dripped blood all over the floor.

In a useless attempt to avoid unwanted attention, the men had tried to hide the dead animal under a box, but to all watching, the shocking truth was plain to see.

Delicious: A Chinese restaurant has been closed after patrons watches two workers wheel a deer carcass into the kitchen in the middle of lunchtime

After one quick-thinking diner called the health authorities, an inspector arrived to investigate and was amazed to hear the restaurant owner telling him that he didn't know he wasn't allowed to pick up roadkill.

'That makes me concerned that maybe they could have [done so] before,' environmental inspector Paul Lawson told WKYT on Thursday.

Hidden: The owner's son and an employee hid the carcass in a bin but its limbs were seen sticking out and dripping blood by all who sat and watched

Not so pretty now: The eatery has been closed but once it passes a second inspection it can go back to business as usual, providing any customers return

Red Flower regular, Tonya Thacker admitted she vomited straight away after witnessing the gut-wrenching scene.



'I don't think I'll ever eat Chinese food again,' she said.



Another diner, Katie Hopkins, described how 'two of the workers came in wheeling a garbage can and they had a box sitting on top of it. And hanging out of the garbage can, they were trying to be real quick with it so that nobody could see it.

Yuck: The owners of the restaurant told health authorities they picked up the dead deer on the side of the I-75 had intended to take it home (STOCK IMAGE)

'But there was like a tail, and a foot and leg sticking out of the garbage can and they wheeled it straight back into the kitchen.'

The restaurant owner's son admitted they had found the roadkill along the side of the I-75 but insisted they had not intended to serve it to their customers.



Marveling at the irony with disgust Ms Hopkins said: 'We were actually joking about the, you know, the whole Chinese restaurant. You know some rumors that you hear.'

Nauseated: Tonya Thacker (left) and Katie Hopkins (right) were among the customers eating at Red Flower Restaurant on Thursday



Amazed: Environmental health inspector Paul Lawson said finding the deer was 'crazy' and worried that the restaurant may have brought roadkill onto the premises before

She continued; 'Many people eat there. A lot of locals eat there on lunch breaks and stuff. It was very disturbing. There was actually a blood trail that they were mopping up behind the garbage can.'



Amazed by the discovery, Mr Lawson closed the restaurant immediately but officials say Red Flower can reopen its door if it passes a secondary inspection proving that it has washed, rinsed and sanitised the premises since having roadkill inside.

