“I was grossed out and I lost my appetite.”
Those were the words of Shelley Aisaican after she went to Edo Japan at Regina’s Cornwall Centre this weekend.
After ordering her food, she found a cockroach crawling around the food trays.
“We were just at the mall shopping, and we got hungry, so we went to eat,” she said. “Just when I was pulling the tray down, I saw something out of the corner of my eye moving.”
Aisaican posted a video to her Facebook page later that day, and the video went viral with more than 10,000 views in just two days,
“People were joking around saying, ‘Oh it’s just extra protein.’ I think I will pass on that protein,” she said with a laugh.
Aisaican said she asked the employees at Edo Japan to do something about the situation, but claims they simply shrugged their shoulders and moved on.
“It was like it was common and a normal thing for them to be there,” she said. “I even asked them for my money back and they wouldn’t give me my money back. It was like they just wouldn’t acknowledge it or anything.”
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She said it isn’t the first time she and her partner Huey Acoose have seen cockroaches and bugs crawling around the Cornwall Centre.
And while the family only saw one this time around, it makes Acoose fearful there could be more.
“Where there is one, there is more and who knows where they have been or what they have gotten into,” he said. “I mean, we are dealing with our livelihood and food, right? We expect, as a paying customer, that everything is taken care of correctly.
“Right away red flags come up in a situation like that. A person could get sick or disease could come from that.”
Edo Japan made the decision to temporarily close the restaurant beginning Wednesday.
“We are aware of recent images and concerns at our establishment in the Cornwall Centre in Regina,” Edo Japan said in a statement. “We take immense pride in the quality of our product and serving our community, and we want to assure our valued customers that we take this matter seriously.”
They went on to say Edo Japan has taken immediate action, including:
- Alerting the Cornwall Centre of the issue and proactively working with all partners (franchise owner, health authorities and landlords) to enable a timely resolution if required.
- Voluntarily and temporarily closing the location out of an extreme abundance of caution to enable a complete and extensive cleaning.
- Proactively engaging third-party professional services to thoroughly assess and, if required, address the situation.
- Additionally, comprehensive measures have been implemented to eradicate any potential pest presence and prevent future occurrences.
“Our restaurant undergoes regular inspections and stringent cleanliness protocols to ensure a safe and sanitary environment for our guests and staff,” Edo Japan said.’
“Edo Japan is proud of our strong track record of health and safety compliance at this location and will continue to work to ensure the highest standards remain in place, and our guests feel comfortable and safe when dining with us.”
The Cornwall Centre said in a statement that it is looking into the issue further with a pest control contractor.
“Cornwall Centre works diligently with our tenants to maintain clean and safe spaces, and at the time of the most recent inspection no issues were reported. This is an isolated incident we are taking very seriously as the health and safety of our customers and tenants is top priority.”
As for whether or not Aisaican expects to take her business back there, she replied with a quick “no.”
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