DETROIT (WWJ) — One of Detroit’s most famous restaurants has gotten the green light to reopen after closing in January to deal with a rat infestation for the second time in two years.
Lafayette Coney Island reopened its doors Tuesday, five weeks after voluntarily closing on Jan. 24, following an inspection by the Detroit Health Department that revealed the rat issue.
Health officials reinspected Lafayette on Monday and the restaurant passed the inspection.
Lafayette co-owner Sam Seferi told WWJ Newsradio 950’s Jon Hewett it was a challenging five weeks.
“It’s very hard. For me, I’m okay, but for the workers, everybody’s got a family, they’ve gotta pay the bills, that’s kind of hard,” he said.
Seferi said the restaurant lost two workers to other jobs during the closure.
The improvements include a deep cleaning of the restaurant — including a sealing of the open areas in walls where rodents could get inside — as well as new food storage protocols and waste management.
Seferi said he worked long days — sometimes 14 or 15 hours — to fix the issues with the restaurant while they were closed.
Chief Public Health Officer, Denise Fair Razo said the health department takes the health and safety of Detroit residents “very seriously.”
"Through the Dining with Confidence Ordinance and our ongoing inspections, we are working to ensure that our city's restaurants are safe, clean, and meet the highest food safety standards,” she said.
Fair Razo said Lafayette Coney Island “took the responsible step of voluntarily closing after our Environmental Health Inspectors identified health concerns.” She said the department will continue “working closely” with the restaurant to address any issues and “maintain a safe dining environment.”
Back in September of 2022, Lafayette Coney Island was closed after failing a health inspection that was sparked by videos posted to social media showing rats inside the beloved restaurant, located right next to American Coney Island on Michigan Avenue near Campus Martius Park.
At the time, inspectors found multiple holes throughout the restaurant, which they believed the rats were using to get inside. Health department officials told WWJ in 2022 the restaurant closed voluntarily when they were asked, but after quickly reopening, inspectors forced a shutdown.
That closure lasted a little more than a month.
More on today's top stories: