(WXYZ) — A beloved downtown Detroit restaurant will remain temporarily closed after the health department says it found a rat problem.
An inspector reportedly found rat droppings inside Lafayette Coney Island after videos circulated on social media showing the critters inside the establishment.
The owners tell 7 Action News that a renovation team will be coming in to check out the basement and see what can be done.
The owners say Lafayette Coney Island will remain closed for the next few weeks.
“We did see substantial evidence that suggested there were rodents running throughout the facility in the form of droppings," Chief Public Health Officer for the city of Detroit Denise Fair Razo said.
It’s not what you want to hear about a restaurant, let alone an iconic downtown Coney spot, but it’s exactly what’s temporarily shutting down Lafayette Coney Island.
“Wouldn’t surprise me. I believe it," one Lafayette Coney Island customer said.
"Not good is what I’m thinking,” another customer added.
It took less than 24 hours for the coney to be shut down following reaction from the viral video shared out by a city councilman.
The city’s Chief Public Health Officer says while the restaurant shut down, it opened up again later that night leading to the cease and desist notice on the door Wednesday.
The owner's son tells 7 Action News that they haven’t reopened, and that the business plans on fixing the problem right away.
"It's an old building, very old building. We got a small basement, there's a bunch of holes that she said we need to patch up, to fix up," the son Samir Provic said.
The owners say a vacant storefront next door, and a nearby garden attracts the critters to the area. They’ve put up traps, but larger renovations will take place, they say.
"When it comes to the food and the preparation of the food they got nothing to worry about. They never had anything to worry about," Provic said.
