Smokey Mo’s sued over alleged rats ahead of Thanksgiving turkey orders

When hundreds of Austin-area families placed their Thanksgiving turkey orders with Smokey Mo’s BBQ this month, they likely pictured a bustling kitchen filled with mouthwatering spices and smoked meat — not the reports of rat droppings, overnight exterminations and disputed cleanup efforts described in county health inspection documents from the months leading up to the holiday and detailed in a recently filed lawsuit.

The Central Texas barbecue chain, which has more than 20 locations across the region, sold more than 500 holiday turkeys this year. Most were prepared at its Round Rock restaurant at 1601 S. Interstate 35, the same location county health officials inspected in October and again in early November after reports of rodent activity.

The restaurant passed its annual routine inspection on Sept. 8 but was found out of compliance in two areas related to the checklist item titled “No Evidence of Insect contamination, rodent/other animals.” The inspector wrote that there were gaps in doorways, and the rear door was propped open while the restaurant was operating. The inspector advised management to seal gaps to prevent pest access and wrote that exterior doors must remain closed during operations. Unrelated to potential rodents, the inspector also found several problems with hand-washing sinks, giving the restaurant 48 hours to repair the issues or risk closure. The inspector reported two days later that those issues had been resolved.

But an Oct. 16 report, filed just over a month from the initial routine visit, reveals that inspectors responded to a complaint alleging that staff removed a rat from the restaurant's lobby on Oct. 7. The report states that the manager pointed out previously reported gaps were filled with foam or mesh, but the inspector still found rodent droppings under the customer drink station, under the hand-washing sink by the manager’s office and on the floor near the food-prep station in the back of the restaurant. No rodents were observed, but the inspector advised the restaurant to remove the droppings, clean and sanitize the affected areas and continue to plug any gaps.

Another follow-up visit on Nov. 7 — about two weeks after the restaurant spent three days cleaning up — reported similar findings. That report states a county health inspector still observed “gaps in rear doorways and small amount of rodent droppings” near the oven area, as well as “open snap traps in back preparation areas.”

A county health district official, however, told the Statesman that the restaurant did not reach an "imminent health hazard" level.

Former employee claims management ignored concerns

On Nov. 10, three days after the latest inspector visit, former Smokey Mo’s IT employee John Wantz filed a 55-page lawsuit in Williamson County accusing Smokey Mo’s BBQ of ignoring months of warnings about rodent activity at multiple locations and retaliating against him when he escalated concerns.

Wantz, who worked for the chain from February through October, said in the lawsuit that he routinely visited various Smokey Mo’s locations to troubleshoot equipment.

In his petition, he describes seeing rat droppings, damaged ceiling tiles and wiring that had been chewed through at both the Round Rock and Liberty Hill restaurants. He claims he repeatedly raised the issue with Smokey Mo’s president, Craig Haley, and other executives, who are individually named in the lawsuit.

The petition states Wantz “reported the rat infestation at the Round Rock location multiple times over a period of months, beginning well before October 2025. Each time, (Wantz) emphasized the seriousness of the problem and the need for immediate professional remediation.”

Screenshots of text messages provided by Wantz and reviewed by the Statesman indicate Haley acknowledging a rat problem at the Liberty Hill restaurant as early as March 28. Haley wrote, “Definitely rats,” then added a follow-up message: “Or squirrels.”

According to the lawsuit, Wantz also captured video on July 3 showing liquid dripping from the Round Rock store’s ceiling onto a food-prep area. He claims the company continued operating the restaurant for months without addressing the underlying cause. Wentz provided the Statesman with the video, which shows a large puddle on the floor a few feet away from an employee who appears to be preparing food. In the Sept. 8 routine inspection report, two months after Wantz took the video, the inspector stated finding standing water on the floor in the back prep area and advised management to clean up the water and fix the leak.

A three-day cleanup

The most serious allegations in Wantz's petition center on an overnight extermination operation he said he witnessed at the Round Rock location on Oct. 19, which the health district also cited in its inspection report.

When Wantz arrived that evening, the petition states, construction workers told him that more than 150 rats had been killed and around 30 live rodents had escaped. County health inspectors did not observe any live or dead rodents in food-prep areas, according to the reports, but officials did not examine the walls or ceiling.

Wantz alleged that the restaurant left food-prep surfaces exposed and uncovered during the cleanup. Surveillance video provided by Wantz and viewed by the Statesman shows some areas covered by plastic, while others were left uncovered, during the cleanup Oct. 19-20. In the video, it’s unclear whether the uncovered areas were used for food preparation.

Wantz also claims in the suit that he witnessed teenage employees asking the on-duty manager for gloves and masks. According to the petition, the manager allegedly denied their requests and the workers continued cleaning areas contaminated with "dead rats, live rats, rodent waste, urine, feces and decomposing animal carcasses."

“These hourly employees had ZERO protective equipment — no masks, no gloves, no protective clothing, no eye protection, nothing,” Wantz wrote in the petition. The Williamson County inspection report from Nov. 7 says the cleanup was conducted by a “third party company” starting at 9:20 p.m. Oct. 19 after employees had closed the store and completed closing tasks like placing food in coolers and covering food-prep surfaces.

Wantz said that days after reporting these conditions to company leadership and resigning, Smokey Mo’s refused to pay his previously approved mileage reimbursement of $3,809 — retaliation, he claims, for whistleblowing.

Wantz initially filed his suit pro se, meaning he is representing himself, but has since said he is seeking legal representation.

Restaurant calls lawsuit 'meritless'

The Statesman sent Smokey Mo’s representatives detailed questions regarding Wantz’s claims. Restaurant representatives did not respond to the detailed allegations, but Smokey Mo’s legal counsel provided an emailed statement.

“Prior to filing this meritless lawsuit, Mr. Wantz, a former employee of Smokey Mo’s, attempted to extort tens of thousands of dollars from our client under the guise of settlement of baseless, fabricated claims. We will seek dismissal of this fictitious lawsuit and full recourse against Mr. Wantz,” the statement reads. “Smokey Mo’s, a locally-owned business which operates at the highest of standards, will absolutely defend itself and hold Mr. Wantz accountable for the reputational damage he aims to inflict.”

County health reports show Smokey Mo’s acknowledged taking measures to exterminate the rodents between Oct. 19 and 21, including removing “droppings, rodent harborage, bodies, and feces.”

The restaurant closed for three days and reopened for lunch Oct. 22, the report stated.

Aapka Bazaar, a South Asian grocery store next door to Smokey Mo's in Round Rock, confirmed it also closed during a similar time frame to address its rodent issue, and an employee noted seeing a sign on Smokey Mo’s door saying the business was closed for renovations. The grocery passed a reinspection soon after, county inspection reports show. But grocery workers said scratching, likely from rodents, never stopped — at least not in the wall they share with Smokey Mo’s.

“We already took care of it, but if it’s not stopped from (Smokey Mo’s) side, it’s going to continue,” said a grocery employee, who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s always coming from that wall — there are droppings and we hear them running around. It sounds like a lot of them.”

County: Smokey Mo's is 'very cooperative'

State law requires businesses to use “every practical means” to eliminate rodents once an infestation is known. Lori Murphy, director of environmental health for the Williamson County and Cities Health District, said Smokey Mo’s is being “very cooperative” with the inspections and cleanup and that if they weren't, the county would be more aggressive with follow-up scheduling.

“There is a level that this establishment did not reach, which is an imminent health hazard,” Murphy said. “If we actually saw live rodents or food was affected, it would’ve reached that level and the establishment would’ve closed. Since it was not deemed an imminent health hazard, I take that to mean the inspector didn’t observe droppings close to food-prep areas.”

Murphy said a follow-up inspection has been scheduled for the week after Thanksgiving unless the health district receives a complaint prompting an earlier visit.