LUBBOCK, Texas (KLBK) – A pizzeria in Texas faces backlash over a controversial Halloween “pizza” inspired by serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Capital Pizza in Lubbock displayed the decoration — an inedible prop pizza topped with various fake body parts — on the counter of the restaurant earlier this month. A sign underneath the gory display reads “Jeffery [sic] Dahmer special,” photos taken by Nexstar’s KLBK show.
The manager of the restaurant, who requested KLBK not use his full name, said the decoration was made by a server who thought it would be a fun. He said she was partly inspired by the popular series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” which debuted on Netflix in September.
“It being spooky season and the popularity of the Netflix series, one of our waitresses came up with the idea and made the pizza and just put it up as a fun prop for Halloween,” he said.
He further reiterated that the pizza is just a decoration, and completely inedible.
“It’s just a Styrofoam base. It’s got plastic prosthetics on it … eyeballs fingers, there’s an ear,” he said. “Ramen noodles are kind of the main thing here and some fake blood, and then we, as we do with all of our pizzas, we topped it with a pepperoncini.”
But some critics of the decoration apparently don’t seem to find it as “fun” as the staff. Several people have shared their feelings on the restaurant’s Yelp page, calling the idea behind the decoration “disgusting,” or urging clientele to stop patronizing the establishment.
“How can anyone with a conscience or decency buy food from here when there is a prop that mocks the murder of so many men at the hands of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer[?]” one Yelp user asked.
“Can’t believe this place would make a mockery of the victims of Jeffrey Dahmer and say it’s in the Halloween spirit,” another wrote.
The manager of Capital Pizza, meanwhile, said the decoration is all in good fun. He also said he plans to keep it on display until Halloween is over.
“Like I said, it’s a fun prop, I suppose we’ll become either famous or infamous,” he said. “It’s only sitting up here for a limited time, then we’ll move into holiday decorations.”
