Woman Throws Bowl at Chipotle Worker, Judge Throws Her in Jail. How's That Bowl?

An Ohio woman was found guilty of assault in November after being caught on camera throwing her burrito bowl in the face of a Chipotle manager who purportedly didn’t prepare the meal to her liking. When the assailant, Parma resident Rosemary Hayne, appeared in court, she initially expressed remorse for her actions but then went on to double down on the food being prepared incorrectly.

“It’s disgusting looking,” Hayne told the court, an excuse that came right on the heels of her saying there was no excuse for her behavior.

“I bet you won’t be happy with the food you are going to get in jail,” Judge Timothy Gilligan replied.

Hayne received a sentence of six months, but with a twist: She had the chance to knock 60 days off her sentence by taking a job at a fast-food restaurant. She accepted the offer and will soon be fed a hearty spoonful of her own medicine.

For anyone who has ever worked so much as a single shift at a restaurant, this news story is cathartic. For years, food service workers have suffered under the objectively false philosophy of “the customer’s always right.” Servers and cashiers are subjected daily to condescending, entitled and sometimes even abusive behavior and often have to just take it because their corporate overlords are afraid of losing business.

In 2021, the nonprofit organization One Fair Wage released a report detailing why people are leaving their restaurant jobs in droves and, despite what your conservative relatives may say, it’s not because “nobody wants to work anymore.”

Some 53% of workers polled said that they were considering leaving their restaurant job, with 39% citing hostility from customers as their main reason for leaving. Another 45% said that a better work environment would convince them to stay.

Another more notable statistic is that 78% of workers would stay if their job provided a full, livable wage. This echoes a sentiment shared by restaurant workers across the country: “I don’t get paid enough for this shit.”

Turns out the victim, Emily Russell, was the manager of the Chipotle restaurant and had stepped in to protect one of her employees who was initially being yelled at by Hayne. According to a CBS report, Russell had worked at the restaurant for more than four years and was earning $19.25 an hour. Unfortunately, she had to finish her shift (four hours) after the incident. Hayne had ordered online so police were able to quickly track her down and arrest her. 

Russell quit her job a month after the incident and now works at Raising Cane's as a crew member and is hoping to get promoted to manager soon.