WATCH: Restaurant Workers Prepared Food On Ground Outside Next To Dumpster

A restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina, was cited by the health department after a video emerged of employees preparing food on the ground outside the establishment. In the video, provided to Fox affiliate WJZY by a viewer, an employee can be seen peeling onions on the floor outside next to dumpsters and garbage cans.

“It’s kind of unfortunate if you’re buying food from there,” an unidentified restaurant patron told the station.

The video was recorded at the Tokyo Grill & Buffet by the viewer in May. A Mecklenburg County Health Department official said it constituted a “critical violation.” When approached about the incident, the restaurant’s general manager confirmed the food was prepared on the ground. The manager also said at least one employee in the video had been fired since the footage was recorded.

A manager was not on duty at the time the employees were preparing food outside to stop them from doing so, the general manager said. Not having a manager on duty, however, also violated health department standards.

The manager also confirmed other onions had been prepared on the ground at another point in August. The health department subsequently ordered the restaurant to throw out that food.