Storefront of Foods Co. with a truck on the left and the sun shining down
The Foods Co. at 14th and Folsom streets on April 21, 2023. Photo by Christina MacIntosh.

Foods Co., the discount grocery store at 14th and Folsom streets, reopened today after being shut down by the city’s health department for a pest infestation, according to city records.

The Foods Co. store had been closed since Wednesday afternoon for failing an unscheduled health inspection, which noted “major” violations of prohibitions against having “insects, rodents, birds or nonservice animals” on site. The store also had violations in three other categories, including poor condition of food and food handling, improper vermin-proofing or cleaning, and an improperly maintained garbage area.

It is the first health inspection the Foods Co. store has failed since at least August, 2020, according to records from the Department of Public Health.

On Friday, before Foods Co. reopened, the parking lot was filled with cars as employees from the store’s parent company, Kroger, addressed the problems inside. A sign in the window said the store “may reopen 3 p.m.,” and customers outside anxiously awaited the store’s reopening.

Foods Co. employees declined to comment on the specifics of the closure, referring to a “safety concern.” Neither the company nor the public health department immediately responded to requests for comment.

By 2 p.m., the store had indeed re-opened.

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Christina grew up in Brooklyn and moved to the Bay in 2018. She studied Creative Writing and Earth Systems at Stanford.

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9 Comments

    1. Antonio — 

      These comments are monitored in real-time by real people. Nobody is ganging up on FoodsCo.

      JE

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  1. If a store has lines all the way back its becouse its It’s Consumers appreciate the business If you can’t waste your time waiting then go get ripped off somewhere else

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  2. Gare is 100% right about the staffing need. At the minimum there has to be at leat one express lane open at all times. In addition to seriously dealing with infestation inside, the parking lot needs more lighting at night. If Kroger’s merger goes through with Safeway/Albertson’s, will this location be scrapped? For shame, Kroger. Be a better neighbor and lose the ghetto mentality.

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  3. I live a block away, and I would love to hear from foodsco shoppers. Why do you go here? Most of you seem to drive, so I assume you’re coming from far away. What’s the reason to go here? Is it low prices? Do the savings offset the cost of gasoline?

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  4. They don’t hire enough employees to run tge checkouts, lines frequently all the way to back of store. How can they take care of cleanliness and housekeeping issues? Kroger, loosen the purse strings and hire more staff.

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  5. I told the security guard at the front I saw a rat on the lower shelf two or more weeks ago, and don’t know if he told management like he said he would do. Kids might reach down and get bitten. They seem more focused on security, especially in thses times..

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