Popeyes review: Food safety concerns met with false 911 call and refusal of accountability at peachtree city location

On September 5 at approximately 9:00 PM, I visited the Popeyes at 103 Lexington Cir in Peachtree City. After ordering an 8-piece chicken, I observed the cashier assemble packaging and touch the food-contact liner with unwashed bare hands before boxing the food.

When we politely requested that the order be remade with clean hands or gloves for sanitation, the cashier snatched the bag, threw the box onto the warmer chute, and walked off. When I brought this to the attention of the shift manager on duty, she dismissed the behavior, stating the employee was autistic and that she "has 27 autistic relatives" so his conduct was excusable. When I asked for the cashier’s first name to submit a standard customer service inquiry, she refused, claiming company policy barred giving names. Another employee, Dylan, openly stated the company policy was ridiculous.

When I began recording video on my phone to document the refusal of employee names, the manager walked off visibly frustrated and explicitly instructed us that fresh chicken was being dropped and to wait in the lobby.

While waiting peacefully inside the store for our food as instructed, two Peachtree City police officers (Officers Smith and Massarelli) arrived on the scene. The manager had secretly dialed 911, falsely claiming to dispatch that I had been asked to leave and was refusing to vacate the premises (criminal trespass).

The officers quickly realized the claim was completely fabricated after hearing the facts and observing the food handoff—where the staff sarcastically asked if they "needed to put on gloves this time." The officers de-escalated the situation, acknowledged the severe sanitation failure, and escorted me safely out to my car with my food.

When I called the store phone number to speak with the General Manager to resolve this matter professionally, the exact same shift manager answered the phone, refused to facilitate contact with store leadership, and disconnected the call.

Weaponizing law enforcement against paying customers waiting on an order—simply for requesting basic sanitary food handling and employee names—is dangerous, deceitful, and unacceptable. Fayette County Environmental Health complaints and official Georgia Open Records requests for the 911 audio and dispatch records have been initiated.