Mamie Taylor’s, the Chinatown restaurant linked to a disturbing viral video showing what appears to be a rat carcass in a bowl of soup served at a Gastown eatery, has re-opened its doors and cut ties with the restaurant using its on-site commissary kitchen.
The “rat in soup” video was posted on Instagram Dec. 27, and soon circulated online and in the press. The video appears to show a customer spooning a rat carcass out of a bread bowl of soup served at Crab Park Chowdery.
The soup, however, is not prepared at the Chowdery itself — the restaurant had been renting a kitchen space on the premises of Mamie Taylor’s to prepare soups and chowders for delivery to its Gastown storefront.
In the wake of the incident, Vancouver Coastal Health shut down Mamie Taylor’s in order to conduct an inspection of the property; Crab Park Chowdery was permitted to remain open, since the soup was not made at that location.
A Public Health inspector visited Mamie Taylor’s restaurant today. They have resolved the issues & we are permitting them to open as of today. The commissary/commercial kitchen remains closed until they can resolve the issues there.
— VCH Healthcare (@VCHhealthcare) December 29, 2018
On Dec. 29, Mamie Taylor’s was given the all-clear to re-open, and it’s taken the additional measure to end its commissary rental program, and to cut ties with Crab Park Chowdery.
“In the six years Mamie Taylor’s has occupied this location, we’ve never had a situation such as this occur, either in our restaurant kitchen, or with any other tenant of our commissary kitchen,” said Ron Oliver, owner of Mamie Taylor’s.
Mamie Taylor’s restaurant did not use the basement-level commissary kitchen it was renting to Crab Park Chowdery.
“This unfortunate incident has made clear to us that we cannot rely on those businesses who lease our commissary kitchen to uphold the same standard of excellence as Mamie Taylor’s. As such, we will no longer lease commissary kitchen space to other restaurants and have severed business ties with Crab Park Chowdery,” added Oliver.
In the meantime, Crab Park Chowdery has been using its food truck to prepare the soups on the restaurant’s menu, and say it’s looking for a new commissary kitchen to rent.
The restaurant posted the following message on Facebook over the weekend: “We can’t thank everyone enough for the huge show of support! It’s been amazing to see how many of you have stood by and kept an open and objective view on everything. We love you all and hope to see you down here for some delicious chowder soon!”
Mamie Taylor’s, which serves Southern-inspired American fare, is holding a ticketed New Year’s Eve Pig Roast dinner on Dec. 31. The restaurant is open daily for happy hour and dinner, as well as for brunch and late night eats on the weekend.
