NEW YORK -- Dunkin' Donuts is suing to cancel its franchise agreement with the owner of a shop where rodents were photographed nibbling on doughnuts.
A photo of a mouse resting on a glazed doughnut while munching a coconut-covered one was published by the New York Post last week with the caption: "EEEEEEK! Guess who's eating the donuts."The newspaper followed up the story for two days with stories headlined "Mouse Trap" and "Under Mouse Arrest."
In the federal lawsuit, Dunkin' Donuts said it sent the franchise operator, National Donut Restaurants of New York Inc., a termination notice Friday.
"It was determined that there had been gross negligence of our Dunkin' Donuts standards at this one location," said company spokeswoman Jen Rosenberg.
The company, which is based in Randolph, Mass., and has more than 3,400 shops in the United States and more than 1,000 overseas, said the store on trendy Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan breached its contract by permitting infestation by mice.