Rodent captured on video at Baybrook Mall food court
FRIENDSWOOD, Texas (FOX 26) - A Facebook video showing a rodent running around the food court at Baybrook Mall is going viral.
In the video, posted by Spotless Details La Porte on Sunday, you see the animal running across a ledge above the food court as people are seen eating below.
The caption of the video reads, "Is [it] a chef or is [it] going to be on the menu?"
The video has been shared more than 2,200 times and has been viewed almost 150,000 times.
According to Porfirio Villareal, Public Information Officer for the Houston Health Department, a staff member from the health department saw the trending video and alerted inspectors.
On Thursday, four days after the video was posted, health inspectors went out to Baybrook Mall and issued every restaurant at the food court a health code violation-- or a warning to hire pest control, or risk getting a citation and forking over thousands of dollars until the issue is fixed.
"It could be up to $2000 per fine, per day so it could be costly. And they'll have to explain it to a judge if they don't address the issue," Villareal said.
"There's no need to close. It's not a severe infestation. You see evidence of a pest so they need to address it so it doesn't become an infestation," Villareal said.
Health inspectors will revisit the food court next week for a follow up.
FOX 26 also pulled the yearly health inspection records for six of the businesses seen in the video-- Subway, Chick Fil-A, Sarku Japan, Wendy's, Roman Delight Pizza and Pasta, and Great Wraps. Records show that in the last five years, none of these businesses were issued citations for unsanitary practices, although many have received violations in the past.
However, in 2015, all of those restaurants except Subway, were shut down for five days due to an unrelated, sewage backup issue.
A representative from Baybrook Mall said the rodent in the video was an isolated incident. They have apparently hired pest control to address the issue on their property.