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‘Why is everyone still sitting?’: Woman dines in at The Cheesecake Factory. Then she looks up

‘That bill would’ve been free for meeee.’

Photo of P.J. West

P.J. West

Woman looking unsure with text 'lol wtf cheesecake factory'(l), The Cheesecake Factory sign(r)

A Cheesecake Factory gathering was momentarily interrupted by the sort of sight you don’t want to experience at a restaurant.

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The video capturing a rodent frolicking among the light fixtures above tables came from creator Girlyhood (@girlywhirlyyy). The video, posted on Sunday, has gathered more than 6.1 million views as of Monday.

In it, the unwelcome guest is clearly shown crawling on an elaborate golden light element above the tables, and many at the restaurant notice and react with surprise. The video ends with the creator’s companion staring perpexedly into the camera.

In a follow-up video, the creator noted, “No one like literally knew what to do.” Concerned that the rodent would “unalive” itself and fall on one of the tables to “ruin their meal, probably their day,” she noted that despite being “so nervous,” they were relieved that the mouse merely decided to “just scurry and be cute.”

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Is this normal?

Is it normal to have mice and rats in restaurants? After all, several commenters on the videos made jokes about the animated movie Ratatouille, which follows a rat that has dreams of becoming a chef. One commenter quipped, “‘Oh that’s just Remy the head chef” to nod to the movie’s beloved protagonist.

However, a Reddit discussion in the r/KitchenConfidential forum posited that we should not just accept rodents in restaurants as a part of life.

“So we definitely have a rat (or many rats),” the original post began. “We hear them rummaging around in the walls and we found rat droppings today. I’ve heard multiple head chefs in the past be pretty dismissive and say things to the effect of ‘every restaurant has rats, people just don’t understand that’ or things like that. So I’m wondering how common they actually are in restaurants and how serious our situation is.”

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One remarked, “All restaurants have rats in the sense that all restaurants must be in a constant state of prevention. The enemy is always outside the gates. They must always be defeated.”

Another said, “This is the answer. Do all restaurants ‘have’ rats? Yeah, probably…should they be dealt with on a swift, immediate and constant basis? Absolutely. If you are actually hearing them rummage around in walls and are seeing evidence of rat droppings then your chefs attitude towards them should be a little less cavalier, IMO.”

And finally, one noted, “No, not all restaurants have rats in the kitchen. All restaurants have rats by the dumpsters. If they can easily get inside, that’s [expletive] up.”

What would you do at the Cheesecake Factory?

There’s just something about a video of a rodent in a Cheesecake Factory that brings engagement.

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“That bill would’ve been free for meeee,” one said.

“Yep. I’m walking out, with no hesitation,” another responded.

“I would walk out na we good and call the health department,” said another, compressing several reactions into one statement.

“Would’ve got up and left,” echoed another. “If I ate already I wouldn’t have paid. would’ve lost my whole appetite if I hadn’t ate.”

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@girlywhirlyyy He was cute but……? #cheesecakefactory #topangamall #mouse ♬ original sound – girlyhood

The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok direct message and to Cheesecake Factory via email.


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