Chipotle closes Dallas restaurant seen in viral rodent video

Reuters
FILE PHOTO: A Chipotle Mexican Grill is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo - RTSXJLG

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc on Thursday said it has closed the Dallas restaurant where a diner shot video of rodents crawling on the restaurant floor that was widely shared on the internet three weeks ago.

Shares in the formerly high-flying burrito chain, which has been battling to fully recover sales and trust lost after a string of food safety lapses in 2015, were down 1.8 percent to $328.50 in midday trading.

Chipotle closed the restaurant in Dallas' historic West End District on Tuesday to assess the construction of the century-old building where it is housed, spokeswoman Quinn Kelsey said.

Kelsey said the company "will reopen only when we are certain the building meets all Chipotle standards for operation."

Chipotle last month closed a restaurant in Sterling, Virginia, after more than 100 diners fell ill in a norovirus outbreak that the company said was likely caused by an employee working while ill.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by James Dalgleish)