Former Arby's manager charged after allegedly spitting in a customer's food and giving her chicken pox

A former manager at an Arby’s restaurant in Oklahoma is facing felony charges after he allegedly contaminated a customer’s food by spitting on it while suffering from active oral herpes, according to court documents and a civil lawsuit filed by the affected family.

A former Arby’s employee has hit out at allegations that she spat in a customer’s food while she had active herpes

The incident reportedly took place in late March at an Arby’s store in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, where customer Jennica Church stopped at the drive-thru after finishing her late-night bartending shift. Church and her family have since filed a lawsuit against the fast-food chain and former employee Amanda Hendricks, 38, alleging that the contamination led to Church contracting the Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1), commonly known as oral herpes.

According to a civil complaint obtained by People magazine, Church visited the restaurant shortly before closing time to buy food for himself and his family. Recalling the incident in an interview with Oklahoma TV station KJRH, Church said, “It took a while,” adding, “I thought they were mad at me because it was going to close.”

The lawsuit alleges that Hendricks, who was the supervisor on duty and was responsible for preparing food orders, intentionally contaminated Church’s food. According to the complaint, “Hendricks willfully and intentionally spat on meat or sandwich components while preparing plaintiff Jennica Church’s order.” The filing further alleges that “At the time Defendant Hendricks spit on the food, she knew she had Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1), commonly known as oral herpes.”

Court filings also allege that Hendricks had visible lesions associated with an active herpes outbreak at the time of the alleged incident and was aware that the virus could be transmitted through saliva. Surveillance footage obtained during the police investigation allegedly shows the former manager preparing the sandwiches and spitting on the meat and sandwich ingredients before the food was served.

After picking up the food order, Church returned home and shared portions of the meal with family members, including her husband, children and her grandmother, who was receiving hospice care at the time, according to the lawsuit. Church later developed oral lesions and sought medical treatment, eventually testing positive for HSV-1.

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The lawsuit alleges that Church connected her diagnosis to the incident after learning that Hendricks allegedly bragged about spitting in food with others in the community. Broken Bow is a small town, and Church said word of the incident spread locally before authorities confirmed the allegations through surveillance footage.

The complaint further alleges that employees at the restaurant attempted to minimize the incident after it came to light. According to the filing, Church’s family was offered free sandwiches, while her grandmother was allegedly offered “the outrageous sum of five dollars ($5.00) as compensation for food contamination that resulted in a permanent, incurable viral infection.”

The emotional impact on the family also formed a central part of the litigation. In an interview with KJRH, Church’s grandmother said, “I see what it’s doing to my grandchildren, my son, my husband.” She added: “I don’t want to kiss my husband. He ate that food! Just because he didn’t have the epidemic doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it.”

The family’s lawyer, Will Blocker, criticized the actions of staff members who were allegedly aware of the contamination but failed to intervene. “They let it completely slide and my client now has a communicable disease,” he told KJRH. He added, “That has to be a culture deeper than the Arby’s in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Maybe it’s the Flynn Restaurant Group and all 300 stores they own. I don’t know, but we’ll find out.”

Hendricks has since been charged with felony food poisoning with intent to injure, according to court records and police statements cited by multiple U.S. media outlets. It was not immediately clear whether she retained legal representation or filed a lawsuit.

The church family is seeking damages, including medical expenses, physical pain and suffering and emotional distress.