(NEXSTAR) – Ah, just like mama used to make!
A diner at an Olive Garden restaurant claims she was recently served a breadstick printed with numbers and letters — a discovery that has Olive Garden itself “concerned.”
“We are concerned to see this,” a representative from Olive Garden told the customer after she posted a photo of her breadstick to TikTok. “Can you please send an email to social@olivegarden.com with your full name, and the location you went to?”
The photo, which has been viewed more than 3.5 million times since mid-November, appears to show a single breadstick printed with the letters O and K, as well as the number 6. It was also half-eaten, suggesting the diner ate part of the breadstick before becoming aware of the alleged anomaly.
Several viewers offered possible explanations for the lettering, with some claiming to have insider knowledge of the breadstick-making process.
“It’s from the plastic bag they come in,” said one self-identified Olive Garden employee, echoing the theories of several other restaurant workers. “[A]nd when they sit in the freezer for a while that can happen.”
It’s apparently not an isolated issue, either. Some viewers claimed they had the same experience during previous visits. And a photo of a similarly stamped breadstick was also shared to Reddit in 2013.
Olive Garden was not available to respond to a request for additional information on how such markings may have been transferred to the breadsticks.
In any case, Olive Garden appears to have reached out to settle the matter with the affected customer. In a follow-up post on TikTok, the diner shared a screenshot of an email she allegedly received from the company informing her that she had been given a $100 gift card for her troubles.
“Thank you Olive Gardens,” the TikTok user wrote in an on-screen message.
Many viewers applauded Olive Garden’s move, calling it “good service” and an example of how customers “should be taken care of.” Several others, though, seemed to take away a completely different lesson from the incident.
“There was letters on my breadstick when I went tomorrow,” one commenter joked.
