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Barzini’s, the grocery store at 2451 Broadway (between 90th and 91st streets), received a summons to halt operations and close after a New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets inspection revealed ‘severe insanitary conditions,’ according to court documents filed on January 10.
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- Assorted sausages, bacon, cold cuts, cheeses, and smoked salmon in the retail area, deli area, and kitchen walk-in cooler were found to be contaminated with rodent gnaw marks.
- Assorted pasta in the retail area was found to be infested with grain beetles.
- Assorted sausages, cold cuts, and cheeses in the retail open-air coolers, deli open-air cooler, and kitchen walk-in coolers were decomposed, as evidenced by mold-like residues on food surfaces and interiors. Bloated packaging and a putrid odor were also present. This included products with expiration dates ranging from 2018 to 2023 (e.g., 51.5 pounds of Brie cheese).
- The shelves of the deli open-air cooler contained assorted sausages, cheeses, and cold cuts with an extensive buildup of dark grime and mold-like residues. There was also food waste, flaking rust, and rodent droppings.
- A live brood of rats, including one adult rat and six kits, was found in the kitchen walk-in cooler. Cardboard and plastic bag nesting material were also present in boxes of pre-packaged prosciutto stored against the rear wall of the cooler.
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- Two live rats were observed running along overhead pipes in multiple locations directly above food preparation counters in the kitchen.
- A fresh rat carcass was found under the equipment wash sink in the deli.
- Between 500 and 750 fresh and old rat droppings were found in the following locations: retail area, kitchen prep area, and storage area. Specific locations included behind boxes of potatoes in the retail area, on the floor of the kitchen walk-in cooler, and on the floor near the front of the deli display cooler.
- Rat droppings were also observed along the floor in the basement area, among unused loose materials, and on and below pallets storing food products. Droppings were also present under the equipment wash sink in the deli.
- Two dead cockroaches were found on the cutting boards in the kitchen prep area. One live cockroach and a live cockroach nymph were observed on the wall of the basement storage area.
- Five to ten intact cockroach egg casings were noted on the wall near the ice machine in the storage area. Five to ten live flies were noted in the kitchen, with multiple flies landing on cutting boards and other food contact equipment and counters.
Barzini’s has defied a court order and remains open as of this writing.
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ILTUWS reached out to Barzini’s for a statement regarding their decision to stay open. The clerk we spoke with initially claimed to have no knowledge of any such allegations or order to close. We requested to speak with a manager and were directed to Mark Irvin, who identified himself as “one of the managers.”
Irvin stated that he was unaware of any inspection or order to close and asked for our contact information so he could pass it along.
City Councilmember Gale Brewer issued a tweet on the matter: “CAUTION: At my request, the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets inspected Barzini’s grocery store, found SEVERE violations, and ordered the store closed on Wednesday, January 15, at 8:52 a.m. Barzini’s is still open in violation of that order. I am working to have it padlocked ASAP.”
We’ll provide updates as we learn more. This is not the first time Barzini’s has found itself in trouble; it has previously been accused of selling expired cheese and overcharging credit cards.
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The only thing missing is dead, human bodies, minus their credit cards!
The only thing missing is dead human bodies, minus their credit cards!
Sounds like a zoo, not a grocery store. I used to shop there ! Yuk
We stopped shopping there years ago after deli items we purchased caused us to be sick. It never looked clean and sadly, this is no surprise. What concerns me is neighbors who’ve been put at risk because of the condition of the fresh food purchased there.
I don’t understand how they are still open They should have been shut down immediately, and permanently. We also stopped shopping there because the staff was so unfriendly and sometimes just plain hostile.
I stopped going there around five years ago when I saw a mouse in the yogurt cooler. Just running around between the yogurt containers I even got a nice picture. Then later I heard numerous stories of them ripping off credit card customers. So no I never go to Barzini’s.
I know this place very well because I used to live at 90th and West End. The place is a disgrace. Always dirty.
I saw a huge rat once running right in front of me. When I told one of the owners about it, he couldn’t care less.
I have seen lots of packages of ham, chorizo etc… completely rotten…
Seriously, this place should have been closed a long time ago.
Yes, I always avoided it. Always looked dirty and smelled awful and the service was sullen.
I am sad but not terribly shocked by this litany of offenses. I personally witnessed rats running across the floor on several occasions, and even one jumping out of the cheese display. These incidents were over the last 6 months or so. I spoke to one of the managers in each case, and he spoke of the difficulties of the rat problem, the porous entryway, and the $$ they’d allegedly spent on trying to fix the problem. I told him I would be only be getting ice cream which seemed safe enough!) until their issues were solved, and warned that they had better up their game. On another occasion, I heard the squealing of rats overhead near the cheese section, and yes, you might well wonder why I kept going back! Anyway, their violations sound even worse than those of Absolute Bagels (if that were possible), and am supremely disappointed (and disgusted) that these places couldn’t get their act together… Sigh.
How is this place still opened. Dept of Health do your job!! You closed down Absolute (which was dirty as heck!), not it’s time to get rid of this place once and for all!!
Looks like my diet started after reading this. EWWWWWW. Ratzini’s.
Jaime: The NYC Dept of Health does not have jurisdiction over grocery stores. The NY State Dept. of Agriculture and Markets does and it did do its job: it ordered the place closed. Now it will likely issue another closing order and a violation for failing to comply with the first closing order.
I used to live across the street. Never seemed clean and usually unpleasant, but convenient to grab something quick after throughly inspecting it. I stopped going there after buying an exotic chocolate bar for a friend. Since I was putting it in a gift basket, I pulled off the price tag. Under it was another price tag with a significantly lower price. When I pulled that off, there was a sell by date that was two years prior. Refuse to ever go in there again.
Yuk! I’ve also seen rodents running around there. I stopped shopping there after they charged me twice for the same purchases and made me jump through hoops to get a refund. Now that Uptown Whole Foods has also closed, I’m at a loss for where to buy organic produce. Any ideas?
I recommend A Matter of Health, 1347 1st ave on 72nd street. I has everything you would need that is organic.
These are people who live on the West Side–they’re not going to travel to First Ave.
The new Key Foods on the NW corner of 88th & Broadway carries some organic produce. Otherwise, the Health Nuts further north on Broadway has a great selection of organic food.
Did you attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison in the 1960’s? I have been looking for you if you did. I was your roommate on Johnson St. Susan Gutwill
Try Trader Joe’s at Columbus and 93
We will all be sorry if this place closes! One of the last authentic stores left on the west side! Yes it has issues, but I love it. They have everything. Check the dates, use your judgement!
BEN, YOU LOVE THIS? MAYBE YOUR BLIND LOVE CAN OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT YOU ARE PUTTING YOUR HEALTH AT RISK EVERYTIME YOU EAT THEIR STUFF, I CAN’T! BARZINIS HAS BEEN THE MOST DISGUSTING PLACE TO SHOP FOR YEARS. IT SMELLS, THE FOOD IS MOLDY, AND ANYONE CAN SEE THAT NO ONE GIVES A HOOT THAT THIS IS AS UNSANITARY A PLACE AS CAN BE. MAYBE YOU LOVE ALL THIS, BUT I SURE DON’T. RATS, ROACHES, ROTTING MOLDY FOOD. WHAT IS THERE TO LOVE?
CLOSE IT, PADLOCK IT. GALE BREWER, HELP KEEP THE SILVER MOON BAKERY OPEN BUT PLEASE DUMP THIS JOINT. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLOSED YEARS AGO. WHO HAS BEEN PAID OFF IN THE THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FOR ALL THESE YEARS? MAYBE STILL GETTING PAID OFF?
Are you serious? Should people use judgement for the rats running around the food they’ll eat too?
I went there once. I did not go twice.
I had turned them into the city on numerous occasions from the Rats running in the store (that the Bodega Cat completely ignored) to expired Dairy still for sale, to arguing with the staff that you must charge the lowest visible price on the items, and cockroaches on the shelves.
It’s about time. I’ve brought truly disgusting items to the attention of the store manager numerous times. His response-a shrug. I stopped shopping there years ago.
Last week I pulled a price tag off of some of Barzini’s preserves recently bought and found a sell-by date of 2023.
There have been no shortage of rat sightings in the store over the years. Bigger question is where is the NYC Department of Health? Getting paid off to look the other way?
The stunning part is that it took this long for something to be done about this place. I’ve filed a couple of complaints through 311 over the years about wildly expired products and altered sell-by dates there, only to have nothing done about it. It’s a shame to lose a store that had great products, but this place is truly a public health hazard.
On my way!
They have always been a last resort go to in my household. I always knew they were dirty, but this is just beyond disgusting. Such awful and greedy people who couldn’t care less about their customers who supported their business. Hoping they are permanently closed.
This should come as a surprise to virtually no one who has been inside the store. Altered and removed expiration dates are everywhere.
I think there is more than meets eye there. There are huge amounts of food delivered by truck that would seem not consistent with the volume of retail sales. There appears to be no inventory system. No computers. All sales are rung up manually. Nothing is scanned. There is no computerized record of what is being sold. You have to specifically ask for a receipt.
Insanitary?
I once was walking into the store and one of the cats they keep ran in ahead of me. I headed towards produce, as did the cat. Once we arrived I watched the cat climb into the bin of potatoes at the far end and take a shit in and on the potatoes. I have a picture but will spare you. I have not been in since and will never be again. The staff is rude and sleepwalking. I also had a rat run across my shoe while I was shopping the crackers section. Dear God, will someone please get this health hazard out of our neighborhood. These people have knowingly been putting our health at risk. Time to GO!!
Gosh, I shopped there two days ago. Had no idea. The tzatziki was delicious…and the fruit seems very fresh.
Shame, I used to think it was a cute local market when I lived next to it a few years ago. Hope they than clean up their act. Would hate to lose another local grocery store.
I think everyone who read this story thought the same thing I did: “yeah, that sounds like Barzini’s.” It’s a literal rathole.
And the people working there? I decided long ago that it was a Ratatouille situation where the workers were all being controlled by rats in their hats — but in real life rats wouldn’t make delicious food, they’d rip people off and be gigantic jerks to everyone. It’s the only explanation.
THANK GOODNESS! I bought some bad cheese there 20 years ago. They had covered the expiration date with a sticker that gave a false, more recent expiration date. I took it back, and they refunded me without a word. They know what they’re doing, and continued to do so, knowing they could get away with it. I’m shocked it took the city such a long time to put an end to this.
The store has always been gross
I stopped buying there years ago when I saw a rat crawling along one of the upper shelves. But that was even after I KEPT finding expired food, mispriced food, and other issues.
This place has been a rat-infested, badly managed eyesore for years.
I know I will NEVER shop there again, no matter what they do to “pretty it up.” The owner should sell it, and let someone who actually knows how to run a food business take it over and provide properly-priced, unexpired food in a clean and bright store without rats or other vermin.
This place HAS to go. Period.