A ‘fun house’ attraction in San Francisco has launched a ‘Rat Café’ pop-up… No kidding. And the experience is all too real, with a basement location and a swarm of live rats into the bargain. Why would someone do something like this? It’s an extreme in marketing stunts that’s just too far out for me…
The Rat Café pop-up by the San Francisco Dungeon ‘fun house’ will either be
a huge success or a big bust. Not for the faint of heart.
The Rat Café will be open for only one day, July 8, 2017, in the basement of the San Francisco Dungeon. The experience will include coffee, tea, pastries and a 15-minute onslaught by a swarm of real, live rats for diners to ‘interact with’.
The rats are domesticated and certified healthy by the ‘Rat Rescue’ organization, Rattie Rats, that is lending them for the day. We assume they are also well-mannered and will ask before tasting your pastries. Or your toes.
‘Domesticated’ or not I wonder what the Health Department has to say about the rats?
According to the Mercury News of San Francisco, the affair is billed as ‘not for the faint of heart’. No kidding! Tickets are reported to be (US)$50. each. Why so much? Must be the overhead involved with getting, running and keeping the Rats from abuse or danger.
The (US)$50., by the way, includes admission to the the fun house upstairs. That’s usually (US)$10. a head by itself.
My take: This is absolutely nutty and pointless – except to make an absurd publicity splash. I, for one, will not be going to SF to take part. Even if I was already there, I’d probably make a point of staying away.
~ Maggie J.