Man films a mouse crawling across a breadstick display at an Albany-area Sbarro. Then a worker calmly scooped it up: ‘He’s the chef’

Gary Cadieux, who posts on TikTok as @garycadieux, shared a video from a Sbarro counter at Crossgates Mall near Albany, New York. In the clip, the camera moves across a glass display case holding pizzas, including one labeled XL New York Pizza spinach and tomato, and a stack of garlic breadsticks. The red-and-white Sbarro sign and the words “The Original NEW YORK PIZZA” appear above the counter.

Cadieux then tilted the camera up to the menu boards. Those boards advertised a whole pizza to go, two XL New York slices for $12.99, and stromboli combos. The shot returned to the case and tightened on a black tray marked Sbarro Original garlic breadsticks. A voice in the background said, “Thank you.”

As the camera zoomed in, a small dark mouse appeared on top of the breadstick stack and moved slowly across the food. The same voice said “Thank you” again. A hand in a white glove then reached into the case with a blue cloth, took the mouse, and pulled it away. The video panned down to the mall floor and did not show whether the breadsticks were taken out of the case. The video gained 1.1 million views and more than 2,000 comments. 

Health officials later inspected the Crossgates Mall Sbarro after the clip spread

According to Subplot News, the food court also has a Taco Bell, a Wendy’s, and two long-running Chinese counters. Sbarro, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, operates more than 600 locations across nearly 30 countries and is often found in shopping malls.

Cadieux later posted an update as a photo on TikTok with overlaid text. He said he was commenting on a 7NEWS Australia post. The text stated that the Albany County health department was on site the following morning and that the restaurant voluntarily closed for a professional deep cleaning. 

He also wrote that a pest control company was used and that after inspection, the restaurant was allowed to reopen. Smaller text under the statement read, “Help me out, TikTok.” 

Viewers reacted to how the worker handled the mouse. Some compared the scene to the Pixar film Ratatouille. One commenter wrote, “Chill out on my boi remi hes the chef.” Other people focused on the breadsticks and the rest of the food court. 

Commenters wrote about whether the food stayed on display and whether the mall had a wider pest problem. Cadieux’s original video and his later update did not show what happened to the tray after the mouse was removed. Concerns about food handling in videos are not new, such as when a food vlogger watched a chef prepare a seafood pasta dish and flagged a deadly mistake. 

One commenter treated the mouse as small and harmless. They wrote, “He’s just a baby.” Another commenter suggested the breadsticks may have stayed on sale. They wrote, “bet they still sold them breadsticks too.” A third commenter described the worker’s motion as practiced. They wrote, “The way he collected that nice like it’s a daily practice.”

Someone else widened the claim to the rest of the food court. They wrote, “So basically crossgates whole food court is infested.” Another person framed the worker as doing an inspection. They wrote, “chill he’s the food inspector.” 

A commenter asked whether Cadieux had taken the video to local officials. They wrote, “Please please please please tell me you took the pictures/material and got in contact with local health department.”