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Lafayette Coney Island on Lafayette Blvd. in downtown Detroit on Tuesday pushed back against American Coney Island's harsh criticism, insisting a pest control company has found no rat infestation.
American Coney Island owner Grace Keros on Monday sharply criticized her next door neighbor, Lafayette Coney Island, for closing because of a rat infestation, and said people were incorrectly assuming they had a rat problem, too, when in fact they do not.
She alleged that her competitor Lafayette Coney Island wasn't doing enough to keep the place clean, and the building wasn't being kept up to prevent rats from entering.
Keros said she worried Lafayette's problems were hurting business and sullying its reputation.
On Tuesday, Lafayette posted on Facebook a message along with a picture of a Jan. 22 invoice from Orkin, a pest control company, stating that it "completed regular scheduled service and inspection. Upon inspection, there is no new activity to report at time of service."
Two days after the invoice, on Friday, Jan. 24, the Detroit Health Department posted on Facebook that it "has been working closely with Lafayette Coney Island to temporarily close their restaurant to address a rat infestation issue."
Lafayette Coney Island in its Facebook posting Tuesday stated:
We wanted to put on the record that we have been diligent at taking care of things and we have our amazing Orkin team who inspects and services our place weekly.
Orkin was here last on 1/22/2025 and they found no evidence of any infestation. And I have attached a copy for you to see, if they had found something we would of proceeded properly.
Detroit does have a rat problem. The city needs to help the businesses that keep this beautiful city of ours running. I guarantee there are other places with an infestation.
Yes, the building is old and we have decided to take this time to put in new flooring, paint and make some minor updates to better serve our customers. We love all of our customers and appreciate everyone who supports us and has our backs.
And in light of the soapbox statement someone made earlier, unlike her we have never been and are not into bashing and putting down other businesses, we arent that desperate.
The true Detroit Spirit is to help and raise each other up! Like we have done over the years when they needed help. It's easy for American Coney Island to blame us. But who can really say the rats arent coming from them to our side? We might need to find and interview one of the rats just to make sure. Oh and yes we have a broom and even a mop.
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