Roxbury Stop & Shop Reopens After Addressing Unsanitary Conditions
ROXBURY (CBS) -- City inspectors decided Wednesday afternoon to reopen the Blue Hill Avenue Stop & Shop that was closed last week due to health concerns.
The decision came after a final inspection found that Stop & Shop had met Inspectional Services Department officials' requirements for reopening.
The grocery store was shut down last week after inspectors found evidence of rodent infestation and rodent droppings in the bakery, produce, and meat sections.
Read Documents: Stop & Shop Food-Borne Illness Complaints
The department said they are also checking complaints against other city supermarkets and a report that a woman got sick from the Roxbury store before it was shut down.
Carmen Rivera and her husband reported their sickness after eating food they bought at the Stop & Shop just before inspectors closed it.
"I think it's really, really disgusting," Rivera said. "We just kept having stomach pain, diarrhea. We were nauseous."
While Boston inspectors look into that complaint, the closed signs came down at the store and the first customers went in.
"It was nice and clean you could smell it," said customer Dennis Firtzmeyer. "It looked good."
ISD Commissioner William Christopher said that inspectors would be back for unscheduled visits, and that his department would not tolerate failures.
There have been complaints against other Boston Supermarkets, including the Jamaica Plain Stop & Shop, where a report says employees were overheard talking about mice and "counters in the deli department are filthy and the slicers look like they are not cleaned."
At a hearing with Inspectional Services Department officials Wednesday morning, Stop & Shop representatives said that all of the areas cited at the Roxbury location had been cleaned and sanitized.
The work included cleaning shelves and replacing ceiling tiles.
Regional General Manager of Stop & Shop Vinod Israni apologized for the store's closure at the hearing.
"We apologize for the inconvenience the temporary closing of the Blue Hill Avenue store has caused to the Roxbury customers, and want to assure them that we are taking a number of steps to make sure this situation does not occur again," said Israni.
Christopher seemed satisfied with Stop & Shop's response to the closure.
"Stop & Shop responded appropriately to all the violations," Christopher said. "They were able to respond to every violation that was outlined by our department."
Inspectors were notified of the unsanitary conditions via an anonymous tip last week.
The Stop & Shop reps said they were putting better systems of communication in place with the company's pest control contractor, as well as internally.
In addition, inspectors told Stop & Shop managers to set up additional employee training, and to set a date before an 11 a.m. final inspection of the Roxbury location.
John Meaney, Assistant Commissioner of Health for the Inspectional Services Department, said a detailed training was being set up by the grocery store chain for the employees.
"I'll thank them for cleaning up, and tell them, so they know what's going on, things to look for," said Meaney. "If they're cleaning a shelf or opening a drawer and they see mouse droppings...they're to stop right there and they're to get the manager."
A Stop & Shop rep said no employees lost hours during the closure, and that employees came in on days off to help prepare for reopening.
