ATLANTA — A Buckhead country club is accused of hiding two restaurants from the health department.
One former employee told Channel 2 Action News Capital City Country Club went as far as telling workers to hide when inspectors showed up. The man said he was fired after complaining to managers.
On a morning one day last week, the former server, who did not want to be identified, said his manager suddenly made a very odd request.
“It was just take everything off, all the silverware, all the placemats," he said.
He told Channel 2 Action News it got even stranger when the manager asked employees to hide.
"They hurriedly asked us to clean off all the tables, and hide in the back," he said.
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The man said the manager made it very clear why they were hiding.
"He said the inspector is here, and they're not supposed to know that this restaurant is running," he said.
The Capitol City Club which straddles the borders of Buckhead and Brookhaven has several restaurants.
The former employee said the staff hid at least one of those restaurants from the Fulton County health inspector.
After he took his story to the health department, an inspector returned to the club.
The Fulton County Board of Health sent Channel 2 Action News the following statement:
"One of the inspectors discovered two facilities without a permit at the club as a result of the complaint.
Legal notices were issued, and they have 10 business days to come into compliance."
Channel 2's Justin Wilfon called the country club. A spokesperson sent the following statement:
The Capital City Club takes very seriously the health and safety of all its members and guests who utilize the dining facilities at all three club locations. We have always been cooperative and compliant with the Fulton County Board of Health. The Club is in the process of reviewing the information from the health department and is taking every step necessary to comply with its requests. For many years, including 2018, our dining facilities have received A ratings and have stellar track records. We hope to immediately resolve the request for information.
The former employee said the club fired him last week, he believes, for complaining about the alleged cover-up. The club said it will not comment on personnel issues.
"It was a sketchy situation," the man said.
The health department would not speculate about why the restaurants were not disclosed, but they said the act is quite common in Fulton County to save money by avoiding paying for the permits.