Despite denying the incident happened as depicted, a Gastown restaurant is closing its doors for good following allegations involving a rodent in a bowl of soup.
The announcement was made on Instagram two weeks after a viral video emerged of what patrons claimed was a dead rat in their chowder.
Crab Park Chowdery wrote that it's shutting down on Sunday after two years in business.
"Unfortunately it has been a catastrophic event. It's not an image we can outrun," owner Ashton Phillips said. "It's been a great run."
Phillips spoke to CTV News during what would normally be the lunch rush, but instead of a lineup out the door there were just a handful of customers eating soup.
The business is currently losing $400 or $500 a day, according to the owner. Phillips said his response to the scandal has gone from shock to anger.
"It affects me and it affects a lot of people who are in my life," he said.
He still insists the video was fake, and many others have voiced their suspicions online. The original post has been removed from Instagram, and there has been no further word from either of the women who allegedly discovered the rat.
"Nobody can get ahold of them," Phillips said.
Though his business is destroyed, Phillips said he's thankful for the family, friends and diners who supported Crab Park Chowdery through the fallout from the video.
With files from CTV Vancouver's St. John Alexander