Comments for Massive Pound-And-A-Half Rats Infest KFC/Taco Bell In The West Village

Massive Pound-And-A-Half Rats Infest KFC/Taco Bell In The West Village

2007-02-23T21:18:36Z

From WCBS:

They are big. A pound or a pound and a half. Rats! Plump, healthy-looking and oh-so-agile.
CBS 2 cameras caught dozens of them early Friday morning through the window of this closed KFC-Taco Bell in the West Village.

And now CBS 2 has learned that the Department of Health will keep the restaurant closed until it can reinspect it.

We're sorry but when news crews and neighbors can see huge, huge rats running around in your restaurant through the window... you had to have known. The reporter is literally standing there LIVE going "Look, rats!" and the camera guy films the rats. Not exactly a stake-out. The KFC Taco Bell is at 6th Ave and West 4th Street in NYC.—MEGHANN MARCO

Health Dept. Closes Village KFC For Rat Invasion (With Extremely Disgusting Video) [WCBS]

UPDATE: Much More Awesome Raw Video of Rats Gone Wild (with bystander comments)

Comment from Galvanized on 2007-02-25

2007-02-26T04:29:31Z

If "Super Size Me" wasn't enough of a deterrent to fast food, then this one did me in.

Comment from Oh No You Di'int on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T02:43:49Z

btw UGH! I just watched again and vomed in my mouth.

Comment from Oh No You Di'int on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T02:42:10Z

unbelievably disgusting. very glad i don't eat at KFC/Taco Bell but... who is to say any run of the mill bodega is cleaner??

Comment from mschlock on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T02:27:20Z

I'm wondering how the news crew knew to go here and film rats? Do roving bands of local news teams roam the streets of New York looking for vermin?

(Wouldn't put it above some of our more interesting interest groups to release a bunch of rats in a KFC and tip off a news crew, is what I mean.)

Comment from faust1200 on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T01:41:31Z

I like how the anchor said "there's a story developing." All the newspeople collectively gasping and groaning is hilarious. Next you will see the swat team cover the building as they throw a phone through the window so the hostage negotiator can call.

Comment from Clarence Rosario on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T00:57:46Z

Getting cited by the health department for rat infestation must be a nice change of pace from getting cited by the health department for serving shitty food.

Comment from monaflambe on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T00:56:03Z

KFC just announced that they are offering Fish Bits (Bites?) just in time for Lent!
Hehehehehe, does rat count as meat? It can open up the Lenten menu to so many new dishes!

Comment from Little Mintz Sunshine on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T00:39:09Z

Shooting a commerical one night in downtown LA, I looked down the alley to see a large herd of possums hovering in the distance, anxiously waiting for the chunks of food the way-bored grips were hurling at them. Only these weren't possums. They were possum-sized rats that make these puny NYC rats look like lab mice. Holla.

Comment from shanaisapunkrocker on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T00:30:35Z

If the city is going to do something about the rats at this place, they really should walk a block east to Washington Square Park and do something about the huge excess of rats there too-- and those aren't just any rats, but rats that have no qualms about invading people's personal bubbles. Blech, I just lost my appetite for the rest of the day.

Comment from hudsons1 on 2007-02-23

2007-02-24T00:04:33Z

Rats have to eat,too.

ps Whyinthefuk is there even a KFC, Taco Bell, Applebees, etc in Manhattan? Can you not find any other dining alternatives? I can enjoy better quality food in any bodega at a lower price, and at least I can't see the rats.

Comment from Starfury on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T23:55:59Z

The meat you get there....i'ts not chicken.

Comment from viciouslies on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T23:41:41Z

I'm trying to decide whether it's good or bad that I've only ever eaten at that particular Taco Bell while too drunk to remember much...

Comment from tonashideska on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T23:24:46Z

Rats at KFC are still more appetizing than watching Bill O'Reilly on fox.

Comment from fileunder on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T23:16:05Z

I blame the health department. If they'd let 'em keep a couple of big surly tom cats in the place (litter box in one of the restrooms with a little cat door) all they'd find is dead rats in the morning.

or just feed em some green onions.
i'll think inside the bun for now, i suppose.

Comment from SpecialK on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:57:50Z

Video footage here is actually better (and includes incidental hilarious commentary from bystanders)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_re_us/restaurant...

And FoxFive News has a great shot of a few of them crawling up in a high chair.

Comment from EugenieRose on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:54:28Z

@ Yourfriendandneighbor -
damn, busting out "So I Married an Axe Murderer"? There's something you don't see every day. Nice.
And I am not sure who I'd bet on in a cage match between a cat and an enormous mutant rat like the one I'm seeing here. Ew. How can anyone eat in these places, seriously? I work on 28th St, at a regular company, and some of my coworkers eat at a Taco Bell around here, which blows my mind.

Comment from Pandora Spocks on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:40:52Z

Comment from Jonathan-8-Smith on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:40:44Z

Oh, and are those free-range rats? Sorry, I had to.

Comment from Jonathan-8-Smith on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:39:23Z

Funny, I used to think the most disgusting thing about that particular Taco Bell was the people who hung out in front of it. God, I love New York.

Comment from mfdoom on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:39:17Z

at least the rats look healthy and well fed

Comment from MeanMachine on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:34:44Z

KFC & Taco Bell are both owned by the ironically-named company 'Yum! Brands'

Comment from Chaoticfluffy on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:32:27Z

@zibby: I love me some rats too, but keep in mind that these guys are, presumably, not so much lab-bred and disease-free, and are more likely to bite your ear than sit on your shoulder and ride around.

That said, can I have one to take home with me?

Comment from yourfriendandneighbor on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:32:14Z

Who can blame them? The Colonel puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes ya crave it fortnightly!

Comment from Steverino on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:24:39Z

As nasty window displays go, this ranks up there with FOX News studios in Midtown.

Comment from zibby on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:21:25Z

Awwww...I think they're kinda cute. Look at 'em scurry around, looking for a treat to lay their remarkably articulated little claws on. I don't understand the aversion.

Comment from OwenJKatz on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:21:19Z

Sooo... ya want trans fats, E. coli, salmonella, or rat tail with that order? Thanks, and have a nice day!

Comment from dohtem on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:15:23Z

Good luck to those guys!! I'd say that franchise is dead now. No one in their right mind would return after this fiasco.

Comment from skittlbrau on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T22:01:42Z

While I live in New York and accept that rats are a fact of life, I'd much rather not see them where I....

well, I can't even say I eat at Taco Bell. Or KFC.

Regardless, that's gross.

Comment from B on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T21:56:11Z

I want to know was when the last time they were inspected, and how they passed that inspection.

Comment from lovelyday on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T21:52:55Z

This should make Bloomberg's ban on Rats-in-Restaurant-Windows an easier sell than once thought.

Comment from Elara on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T21:49:38Z

This is such an overly-abused joke, but I can't help myself after watching that...

Kentucky Fried Rats!!!

Comment from TedSez on 2007-02-23

2007-02-23T21:46:31Z

They're big, plump and healthy-looking? Fry 'em up, Colonel!