MALDEN, Mass. —
A Malden man says he damaged his teeth on a metal nail that was in his burrito at the Chipotle restaurant in Saugus.
Wicked Local Saugus reports on Thursday, Dec. 27, Nicolas Ramos of Malden ordered his usual chicken burrito at his usual Chipotle on Route 1. Ramos and three friends were dining in at what was once their favorite place to grab a quick dinner.
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“It’s always the same order — well, it was until Thursday,” said Ramos.
This time, the 21-year-old said his burrito contained an unexpected ingredient.
Ramos was a few bites into his dinner when he said he chomped down on a half-inch-long metal nail.
“I was honestly shocked,” Ramos said. “I didn’t know what to think. It was definitely painful.”
At first, Ramos thought the hard object in his mouth was a piece of chicken. When his teeth started to hurt, he realized this was not just a bite of overcooked meat, he said. Ramos isn’t sure how the nail wound up in his burrito, but he is afraid that it may have caused some permanent damage to his teeth.
“Now there’s a hairline crack up my front tooth and a chip out of my bottom tooth,” Ramos said. “It hurts whenever I eat or try to bite something.”
Ramos notified the cashier and immediately received a refund and a new burrito. He also took photos of his meal and reported it using Chipotle’s Talk To Us website feature.
“When I told them what happened, the cashier, she was speechless,” Ramos said. “She did also apologize.”
Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief communications officer, acknowledged his claims and said that Chipotle is committed to a full investigation after they receive more information from Ramos.
A Chipotle representative left Ramos a voicemail when he was at work on Friday. After two unanswered return calls, Ramos said he spoke with a someone from Chipotle headquarters in a Monday morning phone call.
He said his main concern is committing to a costly dentist bill before confirming that he will be reimbursed by Chipotle.
“They said I could file a claim and that I could get a call soon about maybe some dental work,” Ramos said.
Chipotle headquarters released the following statement to WCVB:
“Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our guests and we take all claims very seriously. We immediately issued a refund following the incident and have spoken with the guest to set up a claim.”
Ramos’ friends and girlfriend convinced him to share his photos on Facebook, and his post is nearing 100 shares.
“I wasn’t expecting it to get crazy, but people I don’t even know have started sharing it,” he said.
Ramos said he wanted to share his experience because of Chipotle’s history of health and safety concerns. Referencing the chain’s 2015 E. coli breakout across 11 states, he noted that the Saugus location does not always serve lettuce as a safety precaution. This health risk never affected Ramos’ burrito-eating habits, but his most recent Chipotle experience just might.
Once a regular customer of this Chipotle, now Ramos isn’t sure he will be returning anytime soon.
“I think I’m going to start going to another burrito place,” he admitted.
