VIDEO: Rat Basks In Barrel Of Olives At Fairway Market In Manhattan

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An Upper West Side supermarket apparently has a rodent problem.

Video has gone viral showing what appears to be a baby rat hanging out in a barrel of stuffed olives at the Fairway Market on Broadway and West 74th Street.

"Oh God, that's disgusting...I wouldn't get olives there," one shopper told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.

WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports

Fairway said measures have already been taken since the video went viral.

"We're going to be doing various things at the direction of our exterminators and things that we have found to protect the building. And one of those is that we'll be diamond-plating all wooden wall surfaces, which is actually steel plate to make sure that any pests can't get through them, any rodents can't get through," Fairway vice president Jim Walters told Diamond.

"It's not an infestation within the building. It's a problem that's being exacerbated by construction in the neighborhood," Walters said.

Glenn Herman was shopping at the store just after midnight on Wednesday when another customer noticed the vermin and pointed it out to him.

"I didn't know what to do," Herman told 1010 WINS. "I figured, 'Well, there goes the plan of buying olives, obviously. Should I just leave?'"

Instead, Herman thought no one would believe him and decided he needed proof. He took out his smart phone, videotaped the rat and then posted the footage online.

This is not the first time rodents have been spotted in the store.

Earlier this month, a video was posted on YouTube showing a rat scurrying across the floor in the produce section.

According to the blog MyUpperWest.com, that video was recorded after at least two rats had been seen scurrying back and forth between the aisles with food in their mouths.

Herman, who grew up in New York City, said he still likes Fairway, but will be more careful about buying exposed goods from grocery stores.

"At some level you have to accept a certain level of uncleanliness living in New York City," Herman said. "Fairway is a good company and they have a great market and it's just very unfortunate that this is the reality we all live in."

"It's not just that it's Fairway's problem, this is a citywide problem that's been getting worse for years and years," he added.

Fairway has been assuring customers on their Twitter page that the problem is being addressed.

"Massive construction in the vicinity is the cause. Fairway sparing no expense to help remedy this neighborhood situation," the company wrote on their Twitter page.

The olive bar has been temporarily removed from the grocery chain's Upper West Side location.

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