One barista wasn’t shy to share the alleged atrocities he witnessed in one of Manhattan’s trendy restaurants, Fellini Cucina.
After working for the up-and-coming restaurant chain’s sister café, Fellini Coffee, Corey Kiser (@corey.kiser) used his TikTok platform to share the series of alleged health code violations. Corey’s two PSAs have already gained more than 4.4 million views combined.
“I might lose my job for saying this, but I don’t care. I have to get it off my chest, OK?” Corey begins.
Walking through the streets of New York, Corey holds his phone close to his face as he begins to explain the situation.
“This really cute restaurant just opened up attached to my building,” Corey says. “Someone’s about to get sick, people are about to get sick.”
Corey explains how he believes the restaurant only cares about optics, such as their digital footprint on apps such as Instagram. However, it’s the behind-the-scenes that grows concern.
“People are prepping the food on top of garbage cans, the ice is on top of garbage cans,” Corey says.
Corey even mentions how the freezer is kept at a warm 45 degrees. For reference a commercial freezer should be kept between 0 and -10 degrees fahrenheit.
“The walk-in freezer was at 45 degrees for a whole week. And then I had a couple days off and I’ve come back and it has been at 54 degrees for the past three days,” Corey says.
And it’s not just non-perishables in these freezers.
“We’re serving dairy, we’re serving cheese. Raw chicken [is] being stored overnight, above 50 degrees. This [expletive] is crazy,” Corey says.
Corey closes out the video hounding that someone could get seriously ill from Fellini’s alleged lack of precaution.
“I hope I don’t lose my job,” Corey concludes.
Restaurant responds
“He fired me,” Corey said a day later, in a follow-up video.
No longer working at Fellini, as he worked as its connecting coffee shop, Corey shares how the virality of his video caused him to be let go.
“He told me I didn’t even have to finish my shift if I didn’t want to take the video down,” Corey says. “He said I was affecting their brand.”
According to the New York Post, another Fellini location was dinged by the Health Department for “insufficient dishwashing, unlabeled juice, lack of a properly calibrated food thermometer, potential contamination, a malfunctioning sewage system and more.” And per the Post, yet another location in Chelsea was dinged for “evidence of mice.”
“The Health Department prioritizes the health and safety of diners in New York City,” the Department of Health told the Post. “We’ve received multiple complaints about this restaurant, and we are investigating the situation.”
The Post interviewed an anonymous co-worker of Corey’s who corroborated his allegations of poor working conditions and food prep.
The restaurant denied Corey’s allegations to the Post. They did not respond to an inquiry from the Daily Dot.
The latest
Corey proceeds to update his audience by explaining how many of the staffers have decided to quit. Because, according to Corey, they saw it coming. Corey claims that few members of the staff liked the manager, and this situation only worsened that.
“It could have been rough on people’s livelihoods if they got sick,” Corey says.
However, amid all this backlash, Corey claims that his ex-manager is trying to back-track his initial actions.
“He’s backpedaling, texting me like he never fired me, because I think he’s thinking I’m gonna maybe sue him,” Corey says.
Can Corey do anything?
Corey’s audience had a few words to say on the situation. Some stating that maybe he should sue for wrongful termination. Others thanked Corey for his honesty on the platform. However, there was one comment that really stuck out.
“Ew I [expletive] worked at Fellini, I hated it so much,” One commenter states.
And in a series of back-and-forth commentary with Corey, the commenter elaborated.
“It was disgusting, even at the Chelsea location, actually horrific working conditions,” the commenter concluded.
@corey.kiser Farista at Bellini oopppp #nyc #coffee #dining #psa ♬ original sound – Tall Corey 🤓
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is often called in these times to publicly rank and grade a restaurant on their cleanliness. Fellini’s Manhattan location still awaits grading.
The Daily Dot reached out to Corey (@corey.kiser) for comment.
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