Stella’s Fish Café temporarily closes after viral rodent video

MINNEAPOLIS – A preferred Minneapolis restaurant closed this weekend after a stomach-churning discovery went viral.

A video appeared to point out a rodent in a bin of rice inside Stella’s Fish Café in Uptown.

RaLasia Wright captured the video at about 2 a.m. Saturday when she and her associates walked by the restaurant and noticed the rodent by means of the window within the rice.

“It was large rat, a extremely large, thick rat, like thicker than me, and it was tearing the meals down, like ‘Bookie’ was consuming the meals up,” Wright stated. “No paying clients, however the mouse was.”

A Minneapolis metropolis spokesperson stated the restaurant closed on Saturday for an emergency pest administration go to. Throughout the go to, town stated a well being inspector discovered indicators of mice, together with droppings and a lifeless mouse in a entice. No dwell mice have been discovered.

After the go to, the restaurant stated it voluntarily closed to permit its sanitation and pest management firm to treatment the scenario. They requested for an extra well being inspection which was accomplished Sunday morning.

“We’re nonetheless exploring the validity of the video. Cleanliness and buyer security have at all times been on the forefront of our enterprise and Stella’s has at all times efficiently handed our common metropolis well being inspections. The final inspection was accomplished throughout the final 60 days,” Stella’s Fish Cafe stated in a press release to WCCO.

Invoice Meyer and Gloria Lukalu have been hoping to seize lunch on the restaurant Sunday however noticed it have been closed.

“It is disappointing, glad they’re controlling it,” Meyer stated.

“I have been to locations the place I’ve stated, ‘You have got plenty of flies,’ and it is brushed over, so it is good to see they take well being very critically,” Lukalu stated.

Town famous because the climate turns colder, mice are extra actively searching for entrances to indoors.

“Stella’s administration is working with their pest management firm to stroll by means of the complete constructing to establish and shut up any factors of entry, and to confirm pests are eradicated. Stella’s crew is cleansing the complete facility. They’re taking further steps to judge all meals gadgets in dry storage, and retailer any packing containers of meals in inflexible plastic containers as an extra protecting measure,” a metropolis spokesperson stated.