You know it's 2020 when ... the rats have commandeered a Chipotle. That's apparently the situation on New York's Upper West side, where employees tell the New York Post rats forced a shut-down of a Chipotle location after a months-long saga. As they tell it, the rats first made themselves known over the summer, when avocados and bags of rice began sporting bite marks. The bite situation allegedly progressed to employees being bitten. The fourth to be attacked was reportedly a general manager who suffered a bite to the hand on Nov. 23. The restaurant was temporarily closed for cleaning, but didn't reopen for long: The paper's sources say the rats chewed through some wiring, taking down the ordering system.
One of the grosser lines from the Post's report: Employees "say they've killed dozens of the rodents by stomping on them, smacking them with broom handles, dropping boxes on them and various other medieval methods of extermination." A rep for Chipotle confirmed a "pest problem" in the "immediate area" of the Columbia Presbyterian restaurant located at 4009 Broadway. "We have arranged an emergency pest service and deep cleaning and are working with the landlord directly to ensure location improvements are met before reopening." The Guardian notes it's been a tough year for rats, who have resorted to cannibalism. (More rats stories.)
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