A Tim Hortons restaurant at the University of Waterloo remains closed after a viral video revealed rats scurrying through the kitchen.
In a TikTok video posted by @ratswaterloo, a rat’s shadow is seen passing by the coffee machine near the beginning of the clip and later on, two rats can be seen crawling down from the ceiling further back in the kitchen.
The video was posted on Sep. 20 with the caption “this is what our tuition gets us???,” and since then it has garnered over 273,000 views as of Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s giving budget ratatouille” one TikTok user said.
“Gotta love 30 min wait times for chicken wrap with a side of rat☺️waterloo is great!” another user wrote.
“They have students paying thousands in tuition fees but cant hire an exterminator…” read another comment.
In a statement to Now Toronto, Tim Hortons says it has taken immediate action to close the restaurant and hire pest control experts to handle the situation.
“On behalf of the restaurant’s operators, we apologize to guests for the unacceptable condition of the restaurant and we will not allow it to re-open until we are assured that all our strict standards have been met,” the coffee chain said.
The company says the restaurant is located in a University of Waterloo building along with other restaurants and operated by the University of Waterloo Food Services.
A spokesperson from the University of Waterloo says the restaurant will remain closed until the issue is resolved.
“The University is committed to providing a safe, clean environment for purchasing and consuming food on campus. When Food Services and Tim Horton’s became aware of the issue, we closed the location immediately and pest control attended the site promptly, as is standard practise in the food service industry. Food Services operates many eateries across campus which are regularly inspected by both internal and Region of Waterloo Public Health teams to ensure they meet or exceed hygiene standards,” the statement read.
The university goes on to say that the isolated incident could possibly be related to recent construction at the Student Life Centre.
