‘It’s gone, forever.’ Customer loses trust in Hereford House after tainted food allegation
The day after his father died, John Durrett of Kansas City decided to go to the Hereford House in Leawood with his mother to have a peaceful, relaxing dinner to plan final arrangements for his father.
As longtime customers, they had eaten at the steakhouse restaurant so often they had a favorite table in the front accessible by a wheelchair, Durrett said.
“Quite honestly, when we decided where to go eat the day after my father died, we decided to go because it was my father’s favorite place,” Durrett said. “We thought Dad would love for us to go to the Hereford House.”
Dinner was around 5:30 p.m., and a few hours later, he became ill with gastrointestinal issues. He wasn’t horribly sick and didn’t see the need to go to a doctor.
“I would say on a scale of one to 10, the violent ratio was about mid-range — five or six,” he said. At the time, he thought he just had something that didn’t agree with him.
Now he believes me might have eaten food that was intentionally contaminated.
A week ago the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office announced that they had charged 21-year-old Jace Christian with one felony count of unlawfully adulterating or contaminating food at the restaurant at 5001 Town Center Drive in Leawood’s Town Center Plaza.
The alleged crime occurred between between March 26 and April 25, police said. Since then, little has been released about the crime.
Prosecutors haven’t said how Hanson allegedly contaminated the food, but confirmed that some bodily fluid was introduced into the food. Officials have not publicly verified the type of bodily fluid.
Being a frequent diner at the restaurant, Durrett checked to verify the last time he ate there. His father, Overton Durrett Jr., died on April 1. He knew that he and his mom went there the next day.
“If the news story hadn’t broken, I probably would not have put two and two together,” he said. “I wouldn’t have connected the dots.”
A woman, who declined to be identified for this story because of concerns for her safety, called The Star on Tuesday, saying she and four other family members had eaten from the restaurant during that time period. One of them got ill afterwards.
The woman is “frustrated and just kind of scared” because of the unknowns surrounding the case. Since the news broke, she said it’s what she has been thinking about. It has also affected her desire to eat out at other restaurants.
“I don’t think I’ve cooked this much in my life,” she said.
‘Death penalty to our trust’
The incident has left Durrett questioning his family loyalty to the restaurant, which goes back years.
After his father slipped and fell outside the restaurant and was hospitalized roughly a year ago, they never assigned any blame to the restaurant and continued to eat there.
“Good lord, how can they pay us back like this for years of loyal frequenting to their restaurant?” he said.
At the end of last week, Durrett called the restaurant letting them know he had eaten there and that he believed he was a victim of food poisoning. He told the manager at the time that he wanted a refund.
“They essentially said, ‘Well, we’re not going to do that,’” Durrett said. “And essentially, that was the end of the whole conversation.”
How a company responds to a crisis shows its character, Durrett said. It’s unbelievable to him that the restaurant won’t be refunding people their money.
“It’s a death penalty to our trust,” said Durrett, who doesn’t think they’ll be going back. “It’s gone, forever.”
The Star reached out to the Hereford Housing asking for comment on Durrent’s comments and whether it planned to reimburse customers for their meals.
The restaurant replied with a written statement, which didn’t address whether it would refund money to its customers.
“We have been heartened by messages of support we have received from the community regarding the tampering of food at our restaurant,” the Hereford House said in a statement. “This is an upsetting situation for our customers and for all of us connected to the restaurant.“
The restaurant continued by saying it has always maintained high standards of operation and once it learned of the tampering it destroyed all the food and thoroughly cleaned and sanitized the kitchen and adjacent areas.
“We appreciate the support of the community and look forward to continuing serving everyone,” the Hereford House said.
Public notified days after arrest
After receiving a tip, the Federal Bureau of Investigation contacted Leawood police about possible intentional food contamination, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said.
The investigation into the tip led police to Hereford House, and Hanson was arrested at 2 p.m. April 25. Hanson, who worked part-time at the restaurant at 5001 Town Center Drive in Leawood’s Town Center Plaza, was booked into Johnson County jail where he is being held on $100,000 bond.
Prosecutors charged Hanson the next day. When prosecutors announced Hanson had been charged the following Tuesday, they asked customers who fell ill after eating at the restaurant during that period to contact the Leawood police at tips@leawood.org or 913-266-0696.
Nearly 140 people had contacted police regarding the investigation, which is continuing, said Capt. Brad Robbins with the Leawood Police Department.
Howe said they believe that the investigation will probably lead to additional charges.
Hanson’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 6.
