Employees of Chipotle restaurant are fighting a losing battle against massive hungry rodents.
The hordes of rats numerously infested the restaurant, and the management had failed to control them. So far, four employees have been bitten by the rats, including the General manager. Chipotle is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant on Broadway near West 169th Street in Washington Heights. The restaurant closed in late November after the rats invaded the restaurant and chewed the computer system’s wirings that keep the record of customers and are used for billing.
The employees told the media that when Chiptole closed to the customers, the staff was ordered to clean the restaurant from rodents.
They killed dozens of them by hitting them with broomsticks, heavy boxes, or whatever tool they can find for stomping. Melvin Paulino, one of the employees who was bitten by the rat, said the rodents have taken over the store. Whenever any of the employees see a rat, he starts screaming, and the place turns into chaos.
All the staff members are frightened by the situation, and no one knows how to handle it.
The place is one block far from the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and is included in the A list of health ratings.
The restaurant staff said the rodent invasion was noticed at the end of summer. Holes in the rice bags and chewed avocados alarmed the workers, and then they started seeing the critters in the basement and food boxes. The female staff members who change the clothes before and after work in the back of the store have so many horror stories about the rats.
Luis Gustavo Paulino Ruiz, a staff member, said that no action was taken despite informing the management about the problem, and the rats have eventually multiplied.
The staff is angry with the administrators and said they are scared of the rat attacks as the continuous food supply had made them bulkier. The company doesn’t care about the people; it is only concerned about their money.
Authorities said the first rodent complaint was issued to Health Department on November 30. The health Department ensured that they would consider conducting an in-person sweep on Tuesday in the presence of restaurant owners and pest control experts.