The Five Best Restaurant Apologies -- Translated From Lawyer Speak

Jenn Wohletz January 2, 2015 10:08AM

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Last month, Chipotle got a public hand-smack because an employee did a "hands up, don't shoot" gesture to nine visiting NYPD officers who blew off the burrito bowls and left, sparking a store boycott by local cops and a pile of customer complaints. Chipotle co-CEOs Steve Ells and Monty Moran issued an apology statement disavowing the gesture, making damn sure that the police got an "I'm sorry" out of the deal. The apology, if translated into reality, would probably say "Hey look, we wanna sell people guac and chips, not piss off cops!" Sometimes a public apology is one of the costs of doing business, and at least Chipotle kept it classy.

Here's a list five restaurant apologies -- translated from overly cautious corporate rhetoric into what they really meant. Cheer up, Chipotle! You are far from the first and won't even be the last eatery to cough up an apology, and compared to some, y'all got off easy.

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Jenn Wohletz

Contact: Jenn Wohletz