Carson City Smiths employee confirms rat, mouse infestation, store closed by Health Department
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 04/21/2023 - 1:18pm
UPDATE 5 p.m.: The Carson City Health Department responded to request for information regarding the closure and issued a statement. They could not provide details on whether or not food was contaminated, and stated customers who are concerned should contact the store; however, the store is closed and the phones are not being answered. You can access Smith's Customer Service for the corporation at https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/hc/help/contact-us or by calling 1-800-576-4377.
In the meantime, Carson City FoodMaxx is reported to have increased their staffing over the weekend to deal with customer overflow.
The Smith's located at 2200 Old U.S. Highway 50 in Dayton remains open.
The release from CCHHS is as follows:
On Friday, April 21, 2023, Carson City Health and Human Services Environmental Health Division received a customer complaint about witnessing mice in the Smith’s store located at 599 E. Williams Street.
• An Environmental Health Inspector from CCHHS reported to the Smith’s store location and observed mice droppings in areas of the store where pre-packaged foods are located; no mice were observed.
• Corrective actions were outlined by the Environmental Health Inspector and discussed with the Store Manager. This is an ongoing investigation and CCHHS does not know the full extent of the matter. NAC 446.602 outlines expectations for the control of pests for food establishments which includes grocery establishments.
• CCHHS is unable to set a date for the store to reopen as it depends on the establishment satisfactorily meeting the identified corrective actions and being reinspected by CCHHS Environmental Health staff.
• CCHHS is diligently working with Smith’s to have a resolution to the issue so the store can safely reopen to the public.
• Anyone concerned with the safety of their food should contact the store for additional information
UPDATE 2:30 p.m.: An employee anonymously confirmed the store was involuntarily closed due to a mouse and rat infestation by the Health Department. Specifically mice and rats were located within the meat department. It is not known at this time of other departments have been contaminated.
We are still waiting on a response by the Health Department.
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The Smith’s grocery store at 599 E. William St. in Carson City is turning away customers at the door, but will not reveal why the store was abruptly closed.
A sign on the door says the store is closed for “maintenance” and will reopen Monday; however, store personnel stated it could be Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon.
Store staff would not reveal why the store was closed; however there were multiple EcoLab trucks outside the store and food was being pulled out of the store in large quantities. Staff said they were “not allowed to talk to the press” regarding the closure.
Individuals who had shown up with active Instacart orders were also being turned away at the door, and are unable to complete their contracts.
Power still appears to be functioning correctly within the store.
No information is being provided on how individuals can access the pharmacy for their prescriptions.
Smith’s has also not updated their social media posts regarding the closures.
The Health Department has not yet returned comment on whether this is an infestation or health code issue.
Smith’s Corporate has also not responded at this time.
We will update with information as it becomes available.
