Is this the place that used to be an A&P a long time ago? If it's the same place that I'm thinking of, it's the foulest store in Jersey City.

The conveyers where you put your food are filthy. Gross.

I once walked into this market, was overwhelmed by the smell and did a 180.

(and don't you just love the decor? old/fading christmas decorations)

West Side: Store closed again, cited for spoiled food, rodents

Saturday, October 20, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

For the second time this year, the Jersey City Health Department yesterday closed the Met Foods store at 503 West Side Ave. for rodent infestation, selling spoiled meat and dairy products, and not properly refrigerating food, city officials said.

The store was closed around 12:30 p.m. following an inspection, said Health Inspector Lynette Medeiros.

"They are known to be repeat offenders," said Medeiros. "It's important we send a message that it's not OK to put the public in harm's way."

As a result of yesterday's inspection, 322 cartons of eggs had to be dumped, along with 150 pounds of sausage, and 40 pounds of turkey drumsticks that were freezer-burned because they were wrapped in plastic bags, Medeiros said.

Eggs tested in the store's refrigerator had an internal temperature of around 61 degrees, she said. By state law, refrigerators are supposed to be set at 41 degrees or lower.

The store was shut down in January for virtually identical reasons.

"Any supermarket has these problems here and there," said Frank Siyam, the store's owner. "But what I appreciate is that they (the city officials) are doing their job."

About the rodent infestation, Siyam said, "Any old building sometimes has holes that (allow rodents) to come in from the outside. We are doing our utmost."

Siyam has to appear at a Municipal Court hearing next week, city officials said.

That is one store that should have been shut down years ago. The smell is pretty unbelievable, worse than hot garbage.

CITY SHUTS MARKET
Inspectors find mice droppings, foul smell, refrigeration violations

KEN THORBOURNE -- JERSEY JOURNAL -- JAN 19

A supermarket on Jersey City's West Side was ordered closed this week after health inspectors found evidence of mice infestation, officials said.

The Met Foods store, 503 West Side Ave., was closed Wednesday around 6 p.m., Jersey City Chief Health Inspector H. James Boor said.

Inspectors found mouse droppings on cutting boards, under the deli slicer, along the floor and on several shelves and trays, Boor said.

"They need to get the mice out," Boor said. "Downstairs in the basement, they had a open box of powdered mashed potatoes and you could see the mouse droppings right in it."

However, he said, there were no signs the mice had actually gnawed on food.

Boor said the inspectors descended on the store Wednesday following two months of phone calls from customers complaining about a foul odor in the store and general uncleanliness.

In fact, the mice were just one of several health violations inspectors found in the store, Boor said.

In the basement, two sewer drains had been left open to drain water from a leaky refrigeration unit - the likely culprit for the foul smell, Boor said.

In addition, a refrigeration unit containing eggs, sausages and canned ham wasn't cold enough to meet the health code, he said. Food in the unit had internal temperatures between 53 and 55 degrees, he said; state law requires units to keep food below 41 degrees.

As a result of the overheated fridge, the store had to discard 350 dozen eggs, 75 pounds of sausage, and 45 pounds of canned hams, Boor said.

Frank Sayim, owner of the store, was reluctant yesterday to take issue with the inspectors' findings.

"We will do whatever clean-up they are asking us to do," Sayim said. "We are hoping to finish in a couple of days."

Boor said he expected the store to be ready for reinspection next week.

Local residents didn't seem surprised to learn the store had been shuttered by the city.

Andrew Johnson, who went to the store yesterday hoping to buy cough syrup, said he had never bought meats or produce there.

"The smell is too bad," he said.

"I figured it (the store being shut down) would happen at one point or another," Johnson said. "I just was hoping it wouldn't be today."