Does the mode of operation rule apply where customers wait on themselves after being served by an employee?

Yes, said the court in expanding the mode of operation rule. Aly v. A & H Bagels & Deli, A-2726-21 N. J. Super. (App. Div. 2023).

It appears, from the abbreviated summary judgment facts in the court's per curiam opinion, that on April 28, 2019, plaintiff, after purchasing food at defendant's bagel counter, sat down and ate what she had purchased. Then, while walking to throw out her trash, she was injured when she slipped and fell on a brown substance on the floor.