A restaurant in New Jersey has apologized after a customer recorded video showing a live worm crawling through his dinner.
But that apology only came after staff at Stella Marina Bar & Restaurant berated the customer on social media for complaining in the first place.
On Saturday, New Jersey resident Jim Guinee took his aunt to the restaurant in Asbury Park, N.J., for her 80th birthday.
Guinee told NJ.com that his girlfriend ordered the cod, and was halfway through eating it, when she noticed something unappetizing about her meal.
“She saw this worm squirming out of the codfish on the plate,” Guinee said. “I just videotaped it because… I thought it looked pretty gross, and we weren’t sure what it was. We weren’t sure if she was going to get sick.”
Guinee posted the video later on that night and it quickly went viral, racking up nearly 300,000 views as of this writing.
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In a Facebook post, people at the restaurant criticized Jim Guinee for trying to “destroy” their “reputation and possible livelihoods” and say they stopped serving the cod dish after the worms were discovered.
The restaurant wrote that parasitic roundworms “are frequently found in the guts and in the flesh of fish” and occasionally are missed by inspectors.
The post has since been deleted from Facebook, and the restaurant has posted an official apology on its Facebook page.
“Stella Marina is dedicated to ensuring that our guests enjoy a safe and delicious experience. For the past ten years, we have proudly served thousands of customers without incident until this past weekend and for that, we apologize,” owner Joe Cetrulo said in a statement.
“Out of an abundance of caution, cod has since been removed from our menu.”
Guinee tells NJ.com he is an attorney but hasn’t taken any legal action against the restaurant.
-With files from the Associated Press