DETROIT (WXYZ) — Management at a Popeyes location near E Warren and Conner shut down their store temporarily after a video showed roaches crawling all over to go orders.
Tuesday, the doors to the location were locked and a sign was up that read "Closed due to Maintenance" as cleaning crews worked inside.
The video was posted to social media by a DoorDash driver who said she was waiting for an order to be completed when she noticed the bugs and started recording.
"I was told the order was not ready so I proceeded to wait in the lobby and during that time there were a couple orders on the counter and I seen a roach crawling across the straws," said the driver who did not want to be identified. "It was just like all over the counter, all over the utensils and all over the bags and things like that."
The driver says she alerted the workers about the bugs. She says at one point a worker removed her shoe and killed one of the roaches. She says in her two plus years of delivering food, she's never seen anything like it.
"I was shocked. I was disgusted. I just couldn’t believe that they were even open and working in those conditions," the driver said.
The driver says because of company policy she was required to complete the order but the customer made the decision to throw the food away as soon as she arrived after learning what happened. She says she worked with the customer to report the issue to DoorDash so they could be refunded.
"My goal is to satisfy the customer and notify them in anyway if anything is wrong so I definitely felt like he needed to know that information," she said." This is his lunch break. He’s looking forward to this moment. He probably been at work all day and to be given some food that’s not right, it’s pretty bad."
A spokesperson with the Detroit Health Department says after receiving a complaint/the video Friday, they sent an inspector in Monday who found evidence of cockroaches in the E Warren Popeyes location. The health department says the restaurants management made the decision to voluntarily close as soon as they learned of the video.
Because they serve chicken, the Popeyes location is inspected routinely every 6 months according the health department. They say to their knowledge there have been no prior issues.
"This is completely unacceptable," said a Popeyes spokesperson in a tweet response. "This restaurant was run by an independent franchisee and has been shut down until it can provide our guests with the Popeyes standards and service they deserve."
The DoorDash driver who sounded the alarm, says she's happy something is being done.
"If it wasn’t for me this business would still be open they would still be running today," said the driver. "I feel bad for the staff because it’s holiday time and they probably need their income but at the same time, I don’t want them working in those conditions because that’s awful."
