Updated

A burger joint in Honolulu has been forced to close its doors temporarily after two employees posted a video apparently showing them cooking a rat on the grill.

Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, a Hawaii-based burger chain, announced that one of their locations was closed and the two employees were fired after the video surfaced on social media.

“We are horrified that a former teenage employee would conduct themselves in that way and make such a video of which we are investigating its authenticity,” said Richard Stula, the president of Teddy’s Bigger Burgers.

"We are horrified that a former teenage employee would conduct themselves in that way and make such a video of which we are investigating its authenticity."

— Richard Stula, the president of Teddy’s Bigger Burgers.

The short clip posted on Snapchat shows two staff members joking as they film in what appears to be a rat being cooked on a grill. It remains unclear when the video was taken.

The company is consulting with its lawyers about a potential legal action against the employees who filmed the video, Stula said. “We are horrified a former employee would create something like this trying to destroy our reputation without regard for our 20-plus years of quality and aloha.”

“We are horrified a former employee would create something like this trying to destroy our reputation without regard for our 20-plus years of quality and aloha.”

— Richard Stula, the president of Teddy’s Bigger Burgers.

A “complete sanitization” of the location has been initiated and all equipment and utensils at the restaurant will be replaced, the company said.

“We will then send a corporate team in to inspect and complete a thorough audit of the location before it is allowed to re-open,” the company’s president said in the statement.

The state Department of Health is also scheduled to inspect the restaurant on Friday.

Peter Oshiro, the state’s environmental health program manager, said the burger joint is contacting a licensed pest control operator to examine the restaurant for rodents.

“DOH appreciates the remedial and proactive efforts undertaken by the restaurant owner to protect public health,” Oshiro said in a statement.

Last year, the restaurant received a passing placard after an inspection.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.