Serving food, mixing cocktails, and dealing with an unsavory situation, employees at the Topgolf in San Jose worked amid raw sewage on Sunday. According to an anonymous employee on Reddit, verified by KRON4, the spilled sewage had fecal matter and toilet paper. It affected multiple levels of the venue, creating a health hazard that led to the temporary closure of various facility sections.
The county's response to the spill led to an inspection and subsequent permit suspension for the affected areas. NBC Bay Area reports detailed how the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health suspended operations in specific areas of Topgolf that included kitchen and beverage stations, with the violation deemed an "imminent threat to health and safety." Employees reportedly served food and drinks in spaces where sewage was actively seeping into the environment, with the smell of feces penetrating the venue.
Following the spill, the facility was forced to close last night, and Topgolf issued a statement acknowledging the incident. "We are aware of the situation that occurred at our San Jose venue," Topgolf stated, addressing the swift implementation of safety protocols in partnership with a third-party restoration company and using EPA-registered disinfectant. The seriousness of the situation prompted the decision to implement "additional sanitation efforts," according to Topgolf's statement, per KRON4.
In its response, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department stressed the importance of discarding contaminated food and thorough sanitation before Topgolf could return to full operation. "Cleanup consists of discarding all contaminated food and cleaning and sanitizing equipment, utensils, and food contact surfaces," the health department said, emphasizing that operational restrictions would remain until all corrective actions were verified through a follow-up inspection, as cited by KRON4.
