A live rat fell from the ceiling of a Buffalo Wild Wings in Westchester and landed on a customer’s table before lunch was served.

The rodent’s presence Thursday appears to have been linked to construction at the nearby Howard Hughes Center, where the eatery is located, restaurant officials said.

The restaurant closed voluntarily for cleaning and sanitation. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, an inspection of the facility is planned before it reopens.

Alisha Norman, the diner who witnessed the creature fall onto her table, posted photos of the rat lying stunned on her menu. She also posed with the restaurant’s Grade-A rating.


“I knew the rat was going to be injured because it hit like a Mack truck,” Norman told KNBC-TV Channel 4.

The manager piled the rat onto a plate, covered it with another, and dumped it into a bag. Norman’s lunch was compensated.

Norman was visiting from Texas and didn’t expect the live addition to the menu.


“I was just trying to watch the soccer game,” she wrote on Facebook.

Buffalo Wild Wings is a Minneapolis-based casual eatery and sports bar franchise that has locations throughout the United States.

colleen.shalby@latimes.com

@cshalby