Restaurant Speaks Out After Alleging Customer Threatened to Kill Teenage Employee Over Refund By Moná Thomas

A Missouri restaurant is reiterating its commitment to staff safety after sharing a new social media update thanking the community for its support in the wake of a disturbing customer incident earlier this month.

According to local news outlet KY3, Paul’s Drive In, located in Kansas City, Mo., posted an update on Monday, Jan. 12, expressing gratitude for the outpouring of encouragement it has received and announcing that new in-store Code of Conduct signage will be installed this week. The signage, management said, reflects the restaurant’s long-standing values around respect, kindness and safety in the workplace.

“This week reminded us just how much community matters,” the restaurant wrote in the Instagram caption. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness, support, and encouragement shown to our team. Thank you.” The post added that the business remains “proud of our team, grateful for our community, and committed to standing by our people—always.”

The update follows an incident that occurred the night of Jan. 7, at the restaurant’s Blue Ridge Boulevard location, when a customer allegedly threatened to kill employees — including a teenage worker — during a dispute over a refund. Management claimed that the refund was already being processed when the customer became verbally aggressive and then the situation escalated when the customer allegedly spouted explicit death threats at the employee.

“Last night, our team experienced a situation that crossed a line no service worker should ever have to face,” the restaurant said in an earlier social media post addressing the incident.

Co-owner Amanda Fulbright stressed that the issue was not a disagreement over food or money, noting that such situations are a routine part of restaurant work and are typically resolved calmly.

“We want to be very clear: this is not about a refund or a disagreement over food,” Fulbright said in a statement to KCTV. “Those situations happen in the service industry, and we work hard to resolve them calmly and fairly every day. What crossed the line, and what makes this incident especially concerning, were threats of violence that escalated to death threats directed at our employees.”

Reportedly, the restaurant had the individual removed from the property once the transaction was completed. The entire encounter was recorded on security cameras, though Fulbright said the footage will not be released, explaining that the goal is to protect staff rather than publicly shame the customer.

Fulbright told KY3 that law enforcement was contacted and the business is continuing to work through appropriate legal channels. She added that the individual has not yet been formally trespassed because they have not been identified.

PEOPLE reached out to Paul’s Drive-in for further comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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In its statement, management took a firm stance on the behavior, writing, “Let us be absolutely clear: Threatening violence over a food order is not acceptable. Ever. It is not ‘passion.’ It is not ‘frustration.’ It is assault under Missouri law.” The restaurant said the customer has been permanently banned from the establishment.

Looking ahead, Fulbright said the restaurant will post new signage outlining expectations for respectful behavior toward staff and customers alike. The signage will also reflect “something we’ve always believed: how we treat each other matters,” according to the social media post.

The restaurant also used its latest post to call attention to what it described as a growing problem of violence toward service workers, saying it hopes speaking out will help reinforce that kindness and basic decency are non-negotiable.