Highlander restaurant closed permanently

The Highlander Public House restaurant has permanently closed its downtown location, according to the business's Facebook page.

The eatery in the "Kate" building at Eighth Street and Scott Avenue closed about Aug. 1 following a failed health inspection.

The message posted Wednesday morning read, "We regret to inform you that The Highlander Restaurant has permanently closed its doors in Downtown Wichita Falls, TX. We want to take a moment to explain the circumstances that led to this difficult decision.

"Over the past year, our restaurant has faced significant challenges due to ongoing construction in our building. Unfortunately, this construction caused an influx of rats into our space, as they were forced out of the rest of the building. This is an issue we reported to building management over a year ago, yet we received little to no support in addressing it."

More: Update: A downtown restaurant has closed following failed health inspection

The post said the business informed the city's health department "of our struggles and paid for weekly pest control to try to handle the situation, but it persisted. It's a large building with a lot of rodents."

The post said despite the restaurants' efforts the situation continued to deteriorate.

"The construction activities not only disrupted our operations but also posed serious health and safety risks over the past two years—ranging from the construction crew damaging our air conditioning units and making uninformed decisions that flooded the restaurant to excessive dust filling our dining room and debris dropping on to diners plates while drilling through the ceiling," the post said. "As we navigate this transition, we appreciate your understanding and will keep you updated on our next steps. Thank you for being a part of our journey."

The post was signed, "The Highlander Team."

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Highlander restaurant closed permanently