Yum! Brands Shuts Down Rat-Infested Franchisee After More Failed Inspections
Well, well, well. It seems the rat-infested KFC might not have been such a fluke after all. Yum! Brands, the owner of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, etc., has preemptively shut down all restaurants owned by the rat-infested franchisee following a day of further failed inspections at other New York City locations. From WABC:
After a day of reinspections yesterday, the company that owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut decided to close all its ADF Companies franchises that have not yet been inspected by the Health Department.Yum! didn't say how many restaurants were preemptively closed, but the franchisee operates 20 locations in New York City alone, and "runs nearly 400 franchise restaurants across the U.S. They are the second-largest Pizza Hut-franchise operator in the country." That's comforting.—MEGHANN MARCO"These few franchise units, operated by ADF in New York, obviously do not meet our strict restaurant standards based on health inspection reports," said Emil Brolick, President U.S. Brands, Yum! Brands, Inc.
"They will remain closed until we are absolutely certain they will operate at our high standards. We apologize to our customers and are taking every action, with the assistance of external sanitation experts, to get to the bottom of this. We are redoubling our efforts to inspect every restaurant and are reinforcing all our restaurant cleaning and sanitation procedures," Brolick said.
Inspectors close more city restaurants [WABC]
(Photo: Adam Lawrence)
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Comments:
I wouldn't be surprised if the issue here is also one of inspectors taking kickbacks.
Man, I would've put money down that they were Riese-owned restaurants. I don't know about the ADF places, but the former runs some of the sketchiest places in town.
"ADF Companies are now the second largest Pizza Hut franchisee in the United States, operating restaurants in the greater Tri- State Metropolitan area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut; Georgia; Tennessee; Florida; Alabama; Pennsylvania; Maryland; Virginia; West Virginia and Washington, DC." http://marketsummary.bostonherald.com/bostonherald?ID=3766... (December 5, 2006 press release)
Now where will I go to get fried rat?
mopar_man said: "How about a list of all the different franchises and locations across the US so we can all avoid their restaurants? I tried looking on their website but couldn't find that information."
The only way to get that information is to check KFC's franchise filings with the FTC. It's public info. You just have to know to ask.
I lived around the corner from that particular establishment last summer. You notice they almost never show any wide shots of that row of businesses because they're all seedy sex shops (but also the IFC Center).
They said they are re-doubling their efforts...so we should feel better.
2 x 0 = ?
You know who gets hurt the most in all this? The people working there that actually depend on that $6.75/hour pay check to get by. Management screws up, and the little people get screwed over.
That cutesy company naming decision kinda backfires when stories like this surface, doesn't it?
"Yum! Rats! Yum! RATS! Yum! FILTHY STINKING RATS EVERYWHERE!!"
If anyone ever asks you if you have ever eaten rat, don't be too quick with your reply.
In the linked article, I clicked on their link to the Health Department's inspection report, and the restaurant actually passed with 10 points (28 or more is a fail). Remembering that I first heard of this story on Letterman's show, I then searched for the Hello Deli, the deli outside the studio which is involved in the show at least weekly. They failed their inspection a couple of weeks ago with a score of 45.
How about a list of all the different franchises and locations across the US so we can all avoid their restaurants? I tried looking on their website but couldn't find that information.