Video of rats running on wall prompts closure of Waterloo Tim Hortons

A Tim Hortons on University of Waterloo campus has been closed after a video of rats scurrying down one of the restaurant’s walls surfaced online.

The video, uploaded to TikTok by an account called Rats@Waterloo on Wednesday, appears to shows three rodents emerging from the ceiling and running down a wall at the back of the restaurant.

Text superimposed onto the video reads “rat family living nice at SLC [Student Life Centre] tim hortons.”

In an email, University of Waterloo spokesperson Rebecca Elming said when its food services department and Tim Hortons became aware of the video, they immediately closed the location and called pest control.

“Food Services operates many eateries across campus which are regularly inspected by both internal and Region of Waterloo Public Health teams to ensure they meet or exceed hygiene standards,” Elming said.

“This service location will remain closed until this issue is resolved.”

Elming said the university believes the rats could be related to recent construction at the Student Life Centre.

As of Friday at noon, the TikTok video has been viewed 269,000 times.

TIM HORTONS APOLOGIZES

In an email to CTV News, Tim Hortons said it was "incredibly disappointed to see the video."

"We are in contact with the team there to understand why this incident occurred and what actions will be taken to ensure nothing similar ever happens again," it said.

"On behalf of the restaurant’s operators, we apologize to guests for the unacceptable condition of the restaurant and we will not allow it to re-open until we are assured that all our strict standards have been met."