Save a Lot in the West End neighborhood in Johnstown is closed due to a rodent infestation. According to a report from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the store closed after multiple violations.
Save a Lot in the West End neighborhood of Johnstown is closed due to a rodent infestation. According to a report from the Pennsylvania department of agriculture, the grocery store located along Sheridan street was closed today after inspectors found multiple violations. The report cites several bags of trail mix and chips that were gnawed and chewed in to as well as hundreds of rodent droppings in the produce and meat aisles and the storage area. The report also cites over 100 dead flies on glue boards in the meat room.
A viewer sent us a video of the rats inside the store. You can see them walking between the food aisles. We spoke with someone who witnessed the rats roaming the store in the evening. Linda Morris, a West End Resident saying: “When we went down they were looking in the window and they were talking about the rats, you could see the rats running across the floor.” 23:59:21 and also in the meat aisle, apparently somebody was in there earlier and seen where the meat had holes in it like where the rats had ate through some sausage and they must have confronted the owner of the store. I think he got mad about the situation and when they closed the store like I said is when we got back down there and he said one of his employees was there and I guess he seen us on the camera and had her come down and of course there was a little confrontation about filming those rats down there, but there were definitely rats inside the store.”
Residents worry about the neighborhood becoming a low-access area, where the population is more than one-half mile from the nearest grocery store. Morris adding: “Just because they live in low-income housing don’t mean that they have to live according to how you see fit for them to live. Why would you want to service people like that? Would you want that to be your people to be serviced? That’s not fair.”