Not so YUM

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

CNN

 

Taco Bell rats are stars for a day

Rats seen in a closed KFC/Taco Bell in New York City's Greenwich Village cause another public relations setback for the company.

 

 

 

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A pack of a dozen or more rats scurrying around a closed KFC/Taco Bell restaurant in New York City's Greenwich Village early Friday morning prompted shrieks from onlookers and fodder for the morning television talk shows, which aired video of the infestation.

 

The restaurant, on 6th Avenue near New York University, had been cited as recently as December for a number of health code violations, including evidence of rodents and live cockroaches.

 

 

KFC and Taco Bell is owned by Yum Brands (Charts) - a publicly held corporation based in Louisville, Ky. The two restaurants often operate in the same retail space.

 

The company said in a written statement that the restaurant was inspected as recently as Thursday and tried to address the problem by doing construction in the basement. Ironically, it said that work may have temporarily worsened the infestation problem.

 

"This is completely unacceptable and is an absolute violation of our high standards," the company statement says. "We've talked with the franchisee, who is actively addressing this issue, as is evident by the preventative construction in the basement yesterday that temporarily escalated the situation.

 

"This store will remain closed until this issue is completely resolved. The health department inspected the restaurant yesterday and we will ask them to return when work is complete to give the restaurant a clean bill of health"

 

Most Taco Bell restaurants are owned by franchisees.

 

Public records indicate that the last listed owner on record for this franchise is Matthew Bernardo of Madison, Conn. Calls to Bernardo were not returned.

 

Although it passed its health inspections, the restaurant was cited for evidence of rodents several times in the past three years, among other violations. In its most recent inspection, the restaurant scored a 10 on the city Department of Health's inspection meter. A score of 28 or more indicates that the restaurant poses a public health hazard.

 

The restaurant's scores have improved from a 16 in 2004 and a 14 in March of 2006.

 

Still, the Department of Health has cited the restaurant for evidence of rodents and live rodents and insects in each of the past three years. Spokeswoman Sara Markt said if there is an "imminent risk to health" - a "critical violation that can't be corrected" - closure could be a possibility.

 

The Taco Bell chain suffered an enormous public relations setback last fall when dozens of people were sickened by E. coli bacteria, which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention traced back to the chain's supplier of lettuce.

 

The outbreak prompted the closure of many Taco Bell restaurants throughout the Northeast.

[husker rob]

mental note...............never eat at a KFC/Taco Bell that are owned by YUM

[strigori]

It is next to impossible to keep rodents out of any food service building. As long as they are not getting into the food, or any package they do get into is thrown away, it really isnt an issue.

[mbhusker13]

Back when I managed a restuarant. We always had the occasional mouse here or there, but we always scored well. The health inspector himself, also ate there on several instances. 12 rats, sounds like they are seeing live rats running around. THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. A couple mice when the weather gets cold they come flying in every chance they get. Big rats running rampant...not cool.

[diehard]

I dont know if anyone watches CNN but they have a video of the rats running around. They were not the kind of rats I was picturing... THEY WERE HUGE!!!!

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

So thats where they get their taco meat.

[rawhide]

carne asada also if it's the taco bell side I was eating at a Tony Roma's in Temecula, Ca and my wife and I watched a rat/ground squirrel/??? run under tables. Finally a woman noticed it and let out a shriek that scared me even when I knew it was coming. kool

[BIGREDIOWAN]

You should see the rats we have in the tunnel that goes underground between the courthouse and the jail!!! f'ers look like racoons!!!!

[rawhide]

u sure they're not? rats in Ihola I thought only boulder had those.

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

There are more rats with each telling of the story:

 

Indie Cameraman Films Rats At KFC-Taco Bell Outlet

 

 

An independent TV news cameraman who spotted 30-50 rats frolicking inside a KFC-Taco Bell restaurant in New York's Greenwich Village grabbed his camera gear, caught the rats in action, and sold his footage to local and network broadcast and cable outlets, Newsday reported today (Monday). The newspaper said that as videographer Rafael Garcia shot the scene during the wee hours Friday morning, "the rats came to the front window as if playing to his camera." Health inspectors, who had checked out the restaurant only the day before, shut down the restaurant Friday after Garcia's footage appeared on morning talk shows. A spokesman for Yum Brands, the parent company of KFC and Taco Bell, issued a statement saying that conditions in the restaurant were "completely unacceptable" and "an absolute violation of our high standards."