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‘Thick’ layer of rodent feces found in Vancouver kitchen linked to rat chowder video: inspection

Crab Park Chowdery closed weeks after video on social media showed rat allegedly in bowl of chowder
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Photo posted to Instagram on December 27, 2018 by customer who’s friend ordered Manhattan clam chowder at Crab Park Chowdery in Vancouver. (Instagram/pisun_ne_ne)

A health inspection at a Vancouver restaurant that shut down following a customer complaining about a rat in the food reveals further problems: cockroaches, unsafe storage, and “a thick accumulation of rodent excrement.”

Late last December, a woman posted to social media a video of a rat over a bowl of Manhattan clam chowder while at Crab Park Chowdery on Abbott Street. The photo went viral. The owner said their chowder is not prepared at the restaurant, but in a kitchen facility they lease in the basement of a restaurant in Chinatown called Mamie Taylor’s. Despite the defense, the business closed weeks later.

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So i am going to talk about this place @crabparkchowdery . Today my friend ordered Manhattan clam chowder and had a little surprise in it - A RAT. Well i don’t know what else to say about it.... this place just need to be closed or at least people have to be aware about this situation. The cafe is kinda popular though... I’m just trying to help people to avoid places like that. Its an awful feeling, it’s not a fly or a bug it’s a fucking big fat rat boiling in the soup pot, which means my friend was not the only who had a chance to try it. Thank you for you attention. #crabparkchowdery I do not force anyone to believe. This is my personal experience that I shared. Thanks for your attention again. My active page is @adelaiiine if you think this one is fake.

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The recently released report of the inspection conducted by Vancouver Coastal Health identified several problems at the facility at Mamie Taylor’s.

“A thick accumulation of rodent excrement” was found on plumbing lines directly above the cooking equipment, the report says.

Plastic containers of chowder in the walk-in cooler were not covered, and one of the prep tables was directly under a sewer line.

During the visit, the inspector notes a cockroach running over owner Donald Ashton Phillips’ head.

Phillips was instructed to discard all chowder and any food prepared in the Mamie Taylor’s basement, and to get approval before using any facility to prepare food in the future.

The inspector also ordered Mamie Taylor’s owner Ron Oliver to immediately shut down his restaurant after finding rodent droppings on the floor, shelving and equipment. It re-opened days later, after health officials’ authorization.



joti.grewal@bpdigital.ca

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