A pizza shop worker had to chase away a pigeon from the store during a media interview about viral footage of the scavengers standing in and eating the toppings about to be served up to customers.
Three birds were caught feasting on the toppings at a counter of the Crust store in Neutral Bay, on Sydney’s lower North Shore, over the weekend.
A passer-by filmed the nauseating incident with no staff there to shoo them away, and uploaded footage to social media, where it quickly went viral and created a PR disaster for the chain.
Just days later, when A Current Affair arrived to interview staff about what happened, they encountered another pigeon problem.
A bird flew into the shop during filming, forcing the now bird-conscious employee to stop the interview and remove it.
Two more pigeons were spotted perched on a nearby street sign, waiting for their moment to help themselves to the food.
The employee explained that the birds have become particularly opportunistic, and the shop has since implemented various measures to prevent them from getting inside.
He added that if pigeons do get into the food, it all needs to be thrown out and the pizza preparation area thoroughly disinfected.
A spokesperson for the store previously told Daily Mail staff have also been instructed to keep lids on the food at all times.
‘A comprehensive Food Standards Review has also been conducted, and operational best practice reinforced across the network of Crust stores to mitigate any future unexpected visitation,’ spokesperson said.
‘Now equipped with an electrical bird deterrent device, we can confirm that the store is once again open for business, creating the most delicious and Crust-worthy pizzas on the market.’
Many commenters on the original video were disgusted by the site of the pigeons frolicking amid the toppings.
‘Never eating Crust pizza again,’ one person commented.
A second said they’ve placed their ‘last Crust order, ever’.
‘Yeah won’t be going there,’ a third said.
There were a number who expressed amusement at the sight.
‘Crust pizza … pigeon approved,’ wrote one.
Crust is the third biggest pizza chain in with 136 outlets, which operate as individually owned franchises.