“A Rat the Size of a Small Cat”: Rodent Sighting at Starbucks Sparks Concern Among Customers

A viral video shared on X appears to show a large rat running across shelves inside a Starbucks, prompting concern among viewers. The woman filming the video says, "Can you imagine waiting in line at four o'clock in the morning for the barista cups and then seeing this?"

The video then zooms closer on a rat in one of the top shelves inside the Starbucks. "This rat was so huge," the woman continues. "Not to mention there was another one, but I didn't get that one because it ran across the floor."

She ends the video imploring Starbucks to "do better."

The video prompted reactions from viewers over the cleanliness of that particular location. It also has people criticizing those who wait outside of places like Starbucks for limited-edition cups.

"Not sure a mega corporation controls the environmental wild life, but hey maybe they do because look at all these animals waiting outside at 4am FOR A CUP," one commenter said.

Another user criticized the management at that location, and wrote, "I worked for Starbucks for a few years and never had that problem. Gross. Different executives."

Commenters Raise Concerns About Store Cleanliness

Wild rats can carry many types of diseases, which is the main reason for the concern spreading from this video. Especially in places that carry food and beverages, the likelihood of someone getting sick is high enough that measures should be taken to mitigate the issue.

However, as one user in the comments points out, this is not an uncommon occurrence. "I used to install the drive thru audio equipment at fast food places. McDonald’s, Starbucks, Wendy’s, Dunkin, BK, Arby’s, Popeyes, Taco Bell…doesn’t matter what it is, if it has a drive thru, the ceiling is full of mouse/rat s***, which means the rest of it is too," they say.

It is not clear if anything happened after this video was taken. As the woman appeared to walk away from the store once she recorded the rats, it does not seem likely that the video was shown to management of the store.

"This would freak me out. I understand that most restaurants/coffee shops probably have to deal with rodents and insects but that rat is pretty big! And the employee was aware of it. Shouldn’t the owner be setting traps?" said a user in the quotes on the post.

Starbucks had not publicly commented on the video at the time of writing. The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the circumstances surrounding the footage shared on X.