Want a little company over coffee before you enter the San Francisco Dungeon? The Rat Cafe will be open for two days only. (Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Dungeon)

Sometimes you hear about a story and think “Well, that could only take place in…” whatever city or geographic area. There are occasionally clues that point you specifically, of course; any Waffle House story means it happened in the south, for the most part.

The story about a local museum, called a dungeon, which is offering a kind of pop-up cafe where you can eat while adoptable rats scurry around the place, though? That does sound quite a bit like San Francisco, which makes sense, because it is!

Via The Mercury News:

The Rat Cafe is a new, two-day-only feature at the Dungeon, an attraction that takes tourists and locals through 200 years of the city’s colorful and off-color history. This “immersive, pop-up” cafe will be open for two skin-crawling days only, July 1 and July 8.

Well, sure, why not? I mean, a fun little bit of history, surely a bit of history and a weird experience is worth the $5 or whatever it is to get in for the day:

On those days, the price of Dungeon admission ($49.99) will include coffee or tea plus pastry, plus 15 minutes of rodent interaction, plus entrance to the attraction.

$50?!?! And you only get 15 minutes of rodent interaction? I don’t even want to do it and I’m outraged by how much of a rip-off that is, although we are talking San Francisco dollars, and the cost of living there is such that there might as well be an exchange rate.

The aim was to create a “frighteningly funny encounter” — one that could only be found at the Dungeon, executive Matthew Clarkson of the Merlin Entertainments Group parent company said in a statement. “Drinking coffee while a rat is on the loose? That’s not for the faint of heart.”

 

Well, that’s kind of what every New Yorker does every day for no extra charge, right? (I’ve never been to New York City, and I don’t care to go.)

At least some of these little rats can find good homes:

But, should you instead bond with one of the furry little guys, know that you can re-create this experience at home. These “ambassador rats” will be placed here by Rattie Ratz, a Bay Area nonprofit that rescues, rehabilitates and puts rats up for domestic adoption.

Good for Scabbers, Anyway, rats are gross and nearly killed all of us, so there’s that. Let’s stick to puppy or dog cafes.

[Mercury News]

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.