What to Know
- A number of mice were seen running around inside a closed Just Salad at Rockefeller Center Sunday evening
- The mice caught the eye of Eli Colon, who had just had dinner nearby in the center, and he started filming
- Just Salad did not immediately respond to NBC 4's request for comment on the incident
A salad bar blamed its building after up to eight mice were seen running rampant in its midtown location Sunday night, and said the store was closing permanently next month.
"We closed this store for several days to give our team the Thanksgiving holiday off and did not notice the issue in a timely matter. Rodent activity has been a struggle for the concourse area in general," Just Salad CEO and founder Nick Kenner said in a statement of the Rockefeller Center location.
Kenner added that the brand would moving out of the underground location entirely at the end of December.
Rockefeller Center owner Tishman Speyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The mice were caught on camera by Eli Colon, who had just finished having dinner at a nearby restaurant about 7:30 p.m. when he saw something moving in the Just Salad.
He said he spotted about six to eight mice running and jumping inside the store, which is closed Sundays, and started to film. “When you see this kind of stuff you get very concerned for the health of the people who work there and the people who have lunch there every day," he said.
Local
In the video, the mice can be seen scampering around behind the counter in the kitchen. Colon has a 3-year-old with allergies so he was particularly concerned about the level of hygiene. sanitary grade of “A” displays mice like that and we were just passing by not searching for mice and those are noticeable. I'm sure there have to be more. Also questions about the standards and processes used by the sanitary organizations that rates these places and how reliable those are."
The Rockefeller Center Just Salad was last inspected by the Department of Health on October 30. The restaurant inspection found evidence of mice or live mice present, but the 'A' grade was still awarded. Evidence of live mice was not found in neighboring restaurants, according to the department.
Just Salad has more than 30 locations around the world.
