Popeyes branch in Washington, DC shut down after a TikTok video appeared to show its kitchen infested with rats
Zahra Tayeb, Business Insider
Sun, October 31, 2021, 7:05 AM
A Popeyes branch closed down on Thursday after a video emerged showing several rats in a kitchen.
The video was posted to TikTok by a man who claims to deliver chicken to various branches.
A sign posted on the Washington, DC restaurant's door by DC Health cited food code regulations.
A Popeyes near the Eastern Market area of Washington, DC shut down earlier this week after a video emerged showing rats swarming the kitchen, Fox News reported.
The video was posted to TikTok about two weeks before the store closure on Thursday. In the clip, a man who goes by the name @blaqazzrick01 and claims to deliver raw chicken to Popeyes restaurants in the DC area, takes viewers inside the location and says, "y'all want to see something?"
He then proceeds to open the doors and walk into the kitchen, where several rats are darting around and scurrying up the walls.
"You still love that chicken from Popeyes?" the man says.
The video has been shared thousands of times since being posted on October 11.
Popeyes did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
A notice posted by DC Health on the closed restaurant's door read: "This establishment is ordered closed until further notice for a violation(s) of the district of Columbia food code regulations which presents an imminent health hazard(s) to the public."
There have been at least seven complaints of violations filed at six Popeye's restaurants in the district this year, excluding the latest incident, according to DC Health records.
Other fast-food establishments around the country have made headlines over hygiene-related incidents this year.
Earlier this month, a Subway franchise worker in Rhode Island filmed himself stamping on sandwich fillings and placing them on a toilet seat. The company said he had been fired after the videos emerged.
In August, a Burgerville branch in Portland temporarily closed after the company said it found human excrement on its premises.
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