An army of blood-thirsty and avocado-hungry rats are chewing their way through a Manhattan Chipotle, according to freaked out workers who say management failed to act even after they were bitten.
At least four workers have been bitten, electrical wires were chewed through and avocados were feasted on.
The “disgusting” rodents have battered the fast food chain’s 4009 Broadway location in Washington Heights for weeks, the NY Post first reported.
Despite repeated complaints, workers say Chipotle did nothing, leaving them no choice but to fight back against the vermin with brooms, boxes and their feet. It is said that at least one employee used karate to fend off the furry beasts.
“I killed two rats with a stick,” said Luis Gustavo Paulino Ruiz in a statement provided by his union, 32BJ. “I felt uncomfortable every day and my coworkers and I were all scared of getting bitten. Then, moving boxes one day, I got bitten. It was terrifying.”
The Chipotle location has been closed and an exterminator has been called in to deal with the rats.
Chipotle employee Melvin Paulino said he saw “chew marks on avocados” after returning to the location last Friday, and killed a rat by stomping on it. He was bitten shortly after. “I’ve washed my finger a thousand times and still I can’t even bear to look at it,” he said. “It’s not right that Chipotle didn’t keep us safe from getting bitten by rats.”
Bobby Corrigan, a leading NYC rodentologist, told Gothamist that New Yorkers should expect rats are “working harder” to find food as a result of pandemic restrictions, which reduced their dependable trash supply and dealt a “shock to their system.”
Provided a photo of one seemingly enormous rat clinging to a Chipotle bag, Corrigan described the creature as “large for sure…but nothing too extraordinary as it goes in an established rat population.”
He estimated the rat’s weight at 1.5 pounds — for reference, the same as a Chipotle burrito stuffed with queso, sour cream, and guac.