Grubhub driver seen on video eating customer’s food

LONG BEACH, Calif. – A local restaurant owner is outraged after he caught a Grubhub delivery driver wolfing down a customer’s order.

The owner of Mexihanas Hibachi Grill in Long Beach says he was shocked when he saw video of the driver ripping open the bag of food with his teeth and digging into five dishes meant for one customer earlier this week.

“I was pissed…I was upset,” the restaurant’s CEO Martin Luzanilla told KTLA 5’s John Fenoglio. “I went outside and confronted the gentleman, and he told me it was his food.”

Luzanilla still felt as though something was off, and when he went to check his surveillance cameras, he saw the man peel the plastic label off and bite the bag with his teeth before tearing into the dinner that wasn’t his.

“[He was eating] mouthfuls; whatever didn’t fit in his mouth was falling right back onto that plate,” he said. “As soon as I saw [that], I rushed to the phone and called the customer.”

However, by the time Luzanilla was able to get in contact with the customer, the food had already been delivered. What’s more, it was repackaged perfectly, he said.

Luzanilla immediately informed the customer that his food had been tampered with and asked them not to eat it. He then prepared the customer another order and delivered it to them himself.

The popularity of platforms like Grubhub and Doordash has grown immensely over the last few years, and businesses are also benefitting from the online food delivery system. Luzanilla estimates that up to 40% of his orders come from delivery apps.

While thieves may not think that there are repercussions besides leaving someone hungry, Mexihanas Hibachi Grill’s CEO says it’s about more than just stiffing a customer.

“More than anything, it’s the bad review,” Luzanilla said. “When we get a bad review because someone didn’t receive something, how’s that going to look?”

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Overall, Luzanilla is taking a much nicer approach to deterring food thieves than some other restauranteurs.

“If you’re any delivery service driver and you come into my restaurant to deliver some food and you’re hungry, I got you,” he said. “Seriously, you don’t need to pick into the food…I’ll get you a bowl so that way you can eat.”

A spokesperson for Grubhub released a statement regarding the incident that reads:

“We have no tolerance for misconduct on our platform. The vast majority of our orders are completed without incident or complaint, and when things don’t go as planned, we work hard to make things right. Upon hearing of this situation, we took immediate action and suspended the driver from our platform. We’ve also reached out to the diner to address and help resolve the situation.”

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