Three customers walked into a Chili's Grill & Bar in Forest City, North Carolina, ordered margaritas, and walked out with chemical burns in and around their mouths. The drinks, it turns out, had been made with a granulated degreasing chemical that an employee mistook for sugar or salt.
According to WLOS, the trouble started two days earlier, on Monday, October 26, when an employee received a granulated degreasing chemical from a contracted worker who was power-washing the outside of the restaurant. That employee placed the chemical in an unlabeled container, which was then brought into the restaurant and left sitting in the bar area.
Two days later, on Wednesday, another employee preparing the bar for lunch service found that same container and used its contents to make margaritas, believing it was sugar or salt. Three customers ordered the drinks and, per the report, “immediately experienced discomfort” along with chemical burns in and around their mouths before telling staff what was happening and leaving to seek medical attention.
Staff Tasted It Too, Then Got Burned
The customers weren't the only ones affected. Two restaurant employees separately tasted the substance in the container and reported similar symptoms, according to preliminary findings relayed by the station.
The Foothills Health District reported that the drinks were prepared with a cleaning chemical mistakenly identified as salt, per a press release cited by the outlet. The health district then opened a formal investigation and issued an immediate suspension of the restaurant's food service permit while it sorted out what happened.
Permit Suspended, Then Restored
Restaurant staff were instructed to thoroughly wash and sanitize the affected food preparation areas, along with equipment and surfaces throughout the bar. Environmental health specialists wrapped up their investigation in Forest City on Thursday, and the Chili's food service permit was reinstated afterward.
Officials determined that the restaurant met all applicable food safety requirements, according to WWMT. Anyone with concerns about chemical exposure symptoms can contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 for guidance.
A Grimmer Precedent From Oklahoma
Contaminated margaritas aren't unheard of elsewhere, though nothing in the available record ties the Forest City case to that earlier one. In Oklahoma, a woman named Holly Hill drank a margarita tainted with industrial cleaning solution at Hacienda Las Margaritas Bar & Grill in 2023, according to KIRO 7.
Hill's esophagus was chemically burned, and she underwent dozens of medical procedures before she died more than two years after that incident, the outlet reported. The restaurant voluntarily closed on October 27 and 28, 2025, before Hill's death, and her family later sued and won a civil case, reaching a confidential settlement in 2025.
