TOKYO – Japanese beef bowl restaurant operator Sukiya said on March 29 it will temporarily close almost all of its outlets nationwide to take sanitary measures after a rat and a cockroach were found in served food.
In a rare move for a major restaurant chain operator, Sukiya’s nearly 2,000 outlets will be shut from 9am on March 31 to 9am on April 4 while steps are taken to block the entry of pests and vermin.
Some outlets, such as those in shopping malls, will be excluded from the closure.
“We are taking the situation seriously,” the Tokyo-based company said in a statement.
According to Sukiya, a customer reported on March 28 that a portion of a cockroach was found in a take-out item from an outlet near JR Akishima Station in western Tokyo.
The person in charge of the restaurant apologised to the customer and gave them a refund.
The outlet voluntarily stopped operating from the afternoon of March 28, according to Sukiya.
A week before, Sukiya announced that a rat had been discovered in a bowl of miso soup that was served at an outlet in Tottori in January.
Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
