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The “Temporarily Closed for Maintenance” signs are gone. In their place, an ‘A’ grade from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is now posted at Barzini’s, the 24-hour grocer at 2451 Broadway by the corner of 91st Street. The store has officially reopened after passing its health inspection on Monday, February 10.
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Barzini’s was ordered to shut down in January after inspectors found “severe insanitary conditions” on the premises, including rodent gnaw marks on products and packaging, grain beetles in assorted pasta in the retail area, and a live brood of rats in the kitchen walk-in cooler. The grocer reopened and closed multiple times while under orders to remain shut and pass re-inspection.
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When we spoke to Barzini’s manager in late January about the drama surrounding the store, he said, “We’ve had exterminators here every day,” emphasizing that the space had been cleaned up. “We closed all the holes,” he added.
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“This is the right outcome. We want to make sure the owner meets his obligations in order to reopen and stay open safely,” said City Council Member Gale Brewer in a text message to ILTUWS.
ILTUWS received an outpouring of comments about Barzini’s amidst the health code scandal. Some comments were about credit cards being overcharged or double-charged, a matter we covered in 2022, along with accusations of selling expired cheese. We’ll see if these issues resurface, along with concerns about cleanliness, in the new era of Barzini’s.
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Glad to see they were able to clean things up!
We’ll see how long it takes them to start putting price tags over the ‘sell by’ dates again.
I’ll not shop there. Deceptive practices don’t sound like they were addressed. Between overcharging on credit cards, not honoring the price clearly marked reduced, being charged for bags when you have your own, and charging tax on non-taxable items, that store needs new management and staff.
dead rats? aisle 4 next to the cheese
No next to, in with the cheese!
I find it incomprehensible that anyone would choose to shop at that place after the owners KNOWINGLY and REPEATEDLY exposed their customers to contaminated food and fraudulent pricing. There is simply no comeback from such malfeasance.
Hard Pass
Voted #1 By Upper West Side Rats 5 Years in a Row
“I eat there and I poop there,” said one rat defiantly.