10 Restaurants Busted for Selling Drugs

A pizzeria in Germany was recently busted for selling more than just pizza. A major undercover operation revealed that customers who asked for secret item number 40 received a side of cocaine with their pizza. The investigation led to a major drug ring bust where several homes and properties were raided, which led to several arrests. This German pizzeria is just one of several restaurants that have been caught serving narcotics with their food. Here is a list of ten restaurants that were busted for selling drugs.

Related: 10 Times Potential Crime Evidence Was Found at a Thrift Store

10 Armadillo Grill (Raleigh, NC)

The Armadillo Grill in Raleigh, North Carolina, had their permit to serve alcohol suspended after a drug bust in 2023. The popular restaurant and nearby Botanical Lounge were both investigated for selling marijuana and cocaine out of their businesses, along with non-tax-paid alcoholic beverages. Five people were arrested in the bust that took place at both companies.

Armadillo Grill had initially agreed to stop serving alcohol for 64 days, but customers were shocked when they found the doors to the restaurant permanently closed. The business had served the area for more than 20 years and was a popular restaurant that served authentic Tex-Mex food. The Armadillo Grill claimed that this location no longer served their customer base.^[1]

9 Mexzzarella Pizzeria (Bronx, NY)

A pizzeria in the Bronx was caught selling narcotics along with their pizzas. In 2023, three people were charged with running a drug ring out of Mexzzarella Pizzeria when authorities seized over 100 pounds of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl that was worth more than $4 million. Authorities found 42 kilos of cocaine, a kilo of heroin and fentanyl, and several other drugs. Vials of crack cocaine were stored near the pizza counter for convenient sales.

Most of the drugs were found stashed in the basement of the pizzeria, along with a kilo press and about $40,000 in cash. Authorities had been watching the trio for a while as they walked in and out carrying bags and backpacks from the restaurant that sits directly across the street from an elementary school. The three workers were charged with operating as a major trafficker and criminal possession of a controlled substance.^[2]

8 Mamma Ventura’s Restaurant (Gettysburg, PA)

Mamma Ventura’s Restaurant and Loung opened in 1977 in downtown Gettysburg and was started by Carmelo Fazzolari. He passed away in 2003, and his wife Jackie and daughter Cristina became co-runners of the popular restaurant. Cristina graduated from the Cordon Bleu School in Pittsburgh and was listed as a “celebrated chef” on the company’s website. Earlier this year, Cristina was caught selling more than just food.

She faced several charges for selling drugs behind the restaurant and was in possession of cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana. Her husband was also charged with possession and intent to deliver, but he also faced additional charges of prohibited possession of a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia. The couple were found to be selling drugs in the alleyway behind the restaurant, and they were even caught driving somewhere to deliver cocaine with their child in the backseat. The restaurant remains open.^[3]

7 Pollos Asados “El Gordo” (San Antonio, TX)

If you’ve watched Breaking Bad, then you are familiar with Gus Fring. He ran a drug-trafficking operation out of his Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant chain, but Jonathan Linares Lumbreras has been described as the real-life Fring. Lumbreras was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine after being caught selling the drugs out of his San Antonio restaurant earlier this year.

Lumbreras’ Pollos Asados “El Gordo” restaurant was a popular place to eat on the West Side, and it was even featured on a local program that highlighted local restaurants. He had several drug mules that carried out his transactions and transported his drugs. He was also arrested in 2021 after being in possession of 25 kilos of cocaine, two silencers, 35 firearms, $265,000 in cash, and other items. He only received 20 months in prison for that charge, but he faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.^[4]

6 McDonald’s (New York)

Several McDonald’s customers were saying “I’m Lovin’ It” after receiving drugs with their meal. Frank Guerrero was a night shift manager of a McDonald’s in the Bronx for eight years before being arrested for selling cocaine and crack cocaine. The authorities spent three months investigating Guerrero as part of their “Operation Off the Menu.”

The drive-thru at this McDonald’s location was open 24 hours, but the inside of the restaurant would close late at night. Guerrero would unlock the doors, though, to make his drug sales. He was caught hiding the cocaine inside a cookie bag and handing it to customers with two cheeseburgers, fries, and a soda. He sold cocaine to undercover officers eight times, including a time when he sold more than $6,000 worth of cocaine and stashed it in the soap dispenser to be picked up.^[5]

5 Happy Days Diner (Auburn, Maine)

Darren Douin, the 43-year-old owner of Happy Days Diner in Auburn, Maine, was arrested after having drugs and a gun on him when stopped by police. The traffic stop earlier this year was part of a long investigation into Douin for manufacturing and selling drugs out of his establishment. Authorities revealed that he may have been selling drugs out of the restaurant for nearly a decade.

Police searched Douin’s home and business, where they found a total of 70 grams of crack, 55 grams of cocaine, 2.2 grams of crystal meth, 112 ecstasy pills, 17 firearms, and $25,000 in drug proceeds. Sources told police that he was manufacturing crack cocaine in the restaurant during overnight hours. After several sources came forward in 2022, the local authorities started investigating Douin and found that he was selling drugs out of his home and restaurant.^[6]

4 PR House Restaurant (Orlando, FL)

Eighteen people who either owned or worked at PR House in Orlando were charged with operating a drug operation out of the business and selling cocaine and fentanyl. A multi-year investigation into the restaurant revealed that drug transactions have been going on for years, and the local authorities have been receiving tips about the restaurant’s drug activity for 15 years.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) began investigating the location while its predecessor was still in business but had made several arrests over the years for drug activity. The OCSO conducted an undercover operation that revealed that the PR House was selling cocaine to around 70 people each day. The owners of the business were looking to expand by using food trucks as new locations to sell narcotics.^[7]

3 El Coqui Restaurant (Troy, New York)

In 2023, 25 people were indicted on drug charges and faced 164 counts, including criminal possession of a controlled substance and felony criminal sale. These people were involved in a drug ring that used El Coqui, a Puerto Rican restaurant, to sell and store drugs. Authorities were able to seize more than three kilograms of cocaine, 40 grams of heroin laced with fentanyl, four handguns, and over $50,000 in cash.

The leader was 33-year-old Efrain Acevedo, who is considered a major cocaine distributor. Acevedo was selling narcotics to his customers out of the restaurant and then storing the cash and other drugs inside the restaurant. He previously pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in 2017 and was given a nine-and-a-half-year sentence, but he was released on parole in 2022. He now faces life in prison if he is found guilty of felony operating as a major trafficker.^[8]

2 Oishi Sushi & Japanese Steakhouse (St. Petersburg, FL)

After selling drugs to an undercover agent, Hai Thanh Bui was arrested for multiple felony charges in 2022. Bui was the owner of Oishi Sushi & Japanese Steakhouse in St. Pete, and investigators found 750 grams of cocaine, 985.5 grams of ecstasy, 65 grams of ketamine, and other drugs inside a safe at the restaurant. Bui was in possession of the key to the safe at the time of his arrest.

Authorities also found a digital scale and several small plastic bags in the restaurant, and they also located two rifles and five handguns in an RV that was on the property. He was also accused of selling stolen goods, including items that came from a nearby restaurant. He is being charged with 21 counts, and his trial is ongoing.^[9]

1 Saks Off Broadway (Bayonne, New Jersey)

Arthur Saks was an award-winning chef who appeared on the competitive cooking show Chopped in 2011, but in 2019, he was arrested and charged with selling drugs out of his Bayonne restaurant. Saks Off Broadway was Saks’s restaurant located on Broadway and East 15th Street, where gourmet sandwiches were served. After an investigation by local authorities, Saks was arrested and charged with heroin possession and distribution, two counts of unlawful possession of prohibited weapons, and other charges.

Detectives recovered 33 glassine bags of heroin, hypodermic syringes, a .38 caliber revolver, and several other drugs and weapons from the restaurant. Saks Off Broadway was closed by the city’s Environmental Health Specialist after unsanitary conditions were found by local authorities. The restaurant was then ordered to cease all operations, but it never reopened.^[10]