One of Texas' top barbecue chains was rocked ahead of Thanksgiving by allegations of rat infestations, federal violations and retaliatory efforts against a whistleblower. Now, the Central Texas barbecue chain is pushing back against the claims, saying they are the work of a "disgruntled" former employee.
John Wantz worked for Smokey Mo's BBQ as an IT employee from February through August but on November 10 filed a lawsuit with Williamson County alleging that he was retaliated against for informing the company of rat infestations at its Liberty Hill and Round Rock restaurants in August. Now Smokey Mo's leadership tells MySA it is aiming to have the case thrown out entirely and compensated for any damages from the "personal vendetta."
The lawsuit alleges that over 150 dead rats were discovered, liquid was filmed dropping from ceilings into a food preparation area, crews wore hazmat suits during a cleanup but minor employees were tasked with cleaning without personal protective equipment, or PPE, and that the restaurant continued operating despite the exposure. In addition, Wantz claims he was converted from a W-2 employee to an independent contractor after alerting Smokey Mo's about the rats, and that he was denied $3,809.86 worth of mileage reimbursement — which allegedly had been approved by President Craig Haley — following his resignation in October.
Smokey Mo's — which is celebrating its 25th anniversary — told MySA that Wantz was owed a "car allowance" instead of a mileage reimbursement, adding that "every penny he's owed for his employment has been fully paid." This dispute appears to be the tipping point that led to the lawsuit.
In a series of emails provided by Smokey Mo's, Wantz and Haley went back and forth on November 7 to reach a settlement over the reimbursement issue. Wantz claims in his lawsuit that Haley "approved" the reimbursement via text message ahead of his resignation letter on November 4, which detailed the alleged safety violations, after which he never received the reimbursement. The pair traded emails, with Haley offering Wantz a settlement of $5,000, to which Wantz countered with a $45,000 offer, giving Smokey Mo's till 5 p.m. that same day to accept before filing the lawsuit on the following Monday, November 10. For context, Wantz's counteroffer was sent at 2:26 p.m. on November 7.
Haley followed up at 3:35 p.m., sticking with the $5,000 offer, adding that Wantz's claims contained "factual inaccuracies," and saying "it's obvious that you are desperate for money. It is also obvious that your desperation has caused you to attempt to force us into helping you to solve those problems."
Wantz responded at 4:05 p.m., listing out the details that would be included in his lawsuit, adding that settlement talks start at $150,000 if the deadline is missed. Wantz put the deadline as "5:00 PM CST today (Friday, November 8, 2025)," so it's unclear if he meant 5 p.m. on November 7 — the day the email was sent — or Saturday, November 8.
Regardless, Wantz claimed Haley was bluffing, that media coverage was inevitable and that Smokey Mo's had a "PR disaster waiting to happen."
"I want to be real clear, and make a very direct statement - I would prefer to file. Your characterization of me as "desperate" is projection. I'm not desperate—I'm prepared," Wantz wrote in his November 7 email.
Wantz followed up with a $50,000 settlement offer also on November 7, but it's not clear when this was delivered, giving 5 p.m. on November 8 as the deadline. Despite this, Wantz contacted attorney Lee Rigby at 9:48 a.m. on November 10, offering to take a $75,000 settlement if Haley was terminated from his position or a $100,000 settlement with policy reforms if Haley remains employed. He gave Smokey Mo's till 12:30 p.m. that day to reply, at which point the lawsuit was filed in Williamson County.
Wantz is seeking a total of $526,809.86 in damages from his complaints against Smokey Mo's and its leadership.
"I hope Craig is paying your firm well, and you can almost guarantee you ain't get the full story of how hard he worked to cover up his actions during all of this," Wantz wrote in his email to Rigby. "Depositions will be rough for your client. Because this will be a high-profile case, most likely national media attention. You should know from my non profit work here in Austin - I know several of the leaders at Howler Bros and I can almost guarantee you their logo is about to come down off of your website."
It's this language that is part of the reason Rigby believes the suit will be thrown out.
"Frankly, the lawsuit as filed is legally problematic," Rigby said to MySA. "He doesn't really have viable claims against the company. When you read through what are basically salacious allegations, they have nothing to do with if he, if he is owed $3,800; none of that has anything to do with a $3,800 claim. So there'll be a motion practice to dismiss the salacious claims that are there, and we will absolutely seek recourse against him that we're allowed to. When you tell people, I'm going to intentionally damage your business. There's legal recourse for that, and we're gonna effectuate it."
Smokey Mo's also responded to claims made by an article in the Austin American-Statesman which said most of the chain's 500 turkeys sold ahead of Thanksgiving were prepared at the Round Rock restaurant (1601 S. I-35), the space allegedly exposed to rats. The company clarified that turkeys are smoked across all Smokey Mo's locations, except for one due to the size of its kitchen.
As far as what is listed in the lawsuit, Smokey Mo's confirmed rats were discovered at the Round Rock restaurant but clarified the entire shopping center had issues with rodents, not just the barbecue joint.
"We worked with the landlord, we worked with the Health Department, we worked with our pest control company that services all of our restaurants. It was one location, and we worked very diligently to get that cleared," Haley said to MySA.
Smokey Mo's provided MySA with an inspection report from November 12 that clarified "no pest activity was observed" at the Liberty Hill restaurant. However, a text message from Haley to Wantz reading "definitely rats" was shared with MySA. Adding to the confusion, the text was from March 28, and Wantz's lawsuit claims it was reported in August, so the timeline is unclear.
In regard to the cleanup process and alleged Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, violations with the use of employees who are minors, Smokey Mo's shared two videos with MySA of the days in question. A video from October 23 shows an individual, wearing what Wantz claims was a "hazmat suit" and which Smokey Mo's says was a painter's suit, cleaning out the kitchen area. Smokey Mo's says the individual was removing fiberglass insulation.
The second video shows the front of Smokey Mo's on October 21 as various individuals, including Wantz, pass through for cleanup and preparation of the fiberglass insulation. Neither video shows anyone appearing to be under the age of 18 working in the restaurant or exposed to hazardous materials. Wantz's lawsuit claims the 150 dead rats were discovered during this time, but neither video shows evidence of rats. MySA has not been provided any photos or videos showing rat carcasses; only an image of wires that were allegedly bitten has been shared.
Smokey Mo's provided two letters to MySA about the cleanup project. One from Silo Development Group reiterating that it was not doing an extermination job and instead was focused on repairing and replacing the fiberglass insulation, adding that "we wouldn't even know how to exterminate one rat much less 150!"
Prater Pest Solutions also provided the following letter in regard to Smokey Mo's:
"During my last 30 days of working alongside Smoky Moe’s staff and doing preventative rodent inspections. I have observed Smokey Moe’s continues to set the standard for cleanliness and food safety. Our recent preventative rodent inspection confirmed that the restaurant maintains exceptional sanitation practices and a proactive, highly effective pest management program. The facility is clean, well-organized, and fully compliant, with no signs of rodent or pest activity. Smoky Moe’s commitment to maintaining a safe and hygienic environment reflects the same level of care and quality they put into their food and service."
As far as additional claims that Haley was "hostile," "sexist," and "racist" to employees, including Wantz, the following statement was provided to MySA:
"I was deeply disappointed and saddened to see those claims in Mr. Wantz's lawsuit. It does not align with my values or the values of the organization. I have worked in a leadership role for the last 25 years and have never had claims like these directed against me. I vehemently deny the claims he set forth in his lawsuit. As an organization, we work hard to ensure that the behaviors and attitudes he claims in his lawsuit are not allowed. We have gone through the rigorous process of being selected for Top Workplaces in both the Austin American Statesman and MySA over the last few years and have been named as a Top Workplace four times. This is a great indication of the culture we have built at Smokey Mo's."
MySA has reached out to Wantz for comment on Smokey Mo's responses to the lawsuit. Rigby reiterated to MySA that Smokey Mo's wants the case thrown out in its entirety and to be "fully compensated for the damage he's done to the business."
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