LAKE WALES, Fla. — A video shared thousands of times on Facebook has customers backing away from Manny’s Original Chophouse in Lake Wales.
In the video you can see a large rat scaling the side of a wall, in the dining area of Manny’s Original Chophouse. It then crawls across a license plate that is hanging on the wall, as people screamed in the background.
Another video shows multiple rats scurrying across a statue while customers continue to panic.
Since the incident Friday, multiple videos of the rats have been posted.
ABC Action News reached out to the owner of the franchise, Sandeep Sharma, who says this was an unfortunate event. Sharma says he believes the rats got in through an unknown hole that no one knew about until after the rodents showed up.
“We sincerely apologize for the events that took place Friday evening. The roof of the building was just replaced. The new roof was approved by the city and in compliance with all regulations. After all of the rain this week, we discovered there was still a small leak. Upon entering the attic to investigate, a hole was found by the air conditioner. The hole was patched when it was found. We were just made aware of the rodent issue and took immediate action to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible. Ecolab, our pest control company that provides our services monthly, has been out to the restaurant every day, twice per day to ensure that there are no longer any issues.”
Sharma says they have lost significant business since Friday but promises his guests that the hole has been patched the the rats have been exterminated.
ABC Action News is in contact with the City of Lake Wales to find out if the inspection was indeed okay’d with a hole in the roof and if the owner had any past rodent issues.
