(WXYZ) — A historic downtown rivalry between American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island is taking a new twist.
After Lafayette closed temporarily due to the health department announcing reports of rats, American is now claiming their neighbor is hurting their business.
Related Video: Lafayette Coney Island temporarily shuts down after reports of rats
“Buildings are old. You have to maintain them and spend money," said American Coney Island owner Grace Keros.
Related Video: American Coney Island owner expresses anger over Lafayette rat reports
Calling a press conference inside American Coney Island, Keros responded to her neighbor Lafayette Coney Island closing down on a temporary basis last week to make repairs and clean after reports of rats posted by the Detroit Health Department.
On Friday, I was invited by Lafayette’s owners to see cleaning steps being taken up close.
While the owners remain unavailable for an interview, I’ve learned they are also replacing flooring plus making other upgrades.
However, Keros is telling the public that what’s happened next door is hurting her own business.
"Buy a broom. It ain’t that expensive. I spend thousands and thousands, if you don’t spend money to take care of your business and building, you are going to fail,” said Keros.
Late Monday, Lafayette posted the following statement on their Facebook page:
We wanted to put on the record that we have been diligent at taking care of things and we have our amazing Orkin team who inspects and services our place weekly. Orkin was here last on 1/22/2025 and they found no evidence of any infestation. And i have attached a copy for you to see, if they had found something we would of proceeded properly. Detroit does have a rat problem. The city needs to help the businesses that keep this beautiful city of ours running. I gurantee there are other places with an infestation. Yes, the building is old and we have decided to take this time to put in new flooring, paint and make some minor updates to better serve our customers. We love all of our customers and appreciate everyone who supports us and has our backs. And in light of the soapbox statement someone made earlier, unlike her we have never been and are not into bashing and putting down other businesses, we arent that desperate. The true Detroit Spirit is to help and raise each other up! Like we have done over the years when they needed help. It's easy for American Coney Island to blame us. But who can really say the rats arent coming from them to our side? We might need to find and interview one of the rats just to make sure. Oh and yes we have a broom and even a mop
Since Lafayette’s closure last week, customers have also been outspoken along with the health department, which monitors both restaurants, and has monitored both with regard to violations over the years.
According to this Facebook post, Health Department Director Denis Fair Razo plans to ensure Lafayette returns to full compliance.
Lafayette hopes to reopen in about a week, we’ll be getting updates from the health dept in the meantime.
To look up Detroit restaurant inspections, click here.
