DOH Closes Adams Morgan Safeway Over Reported Pests

Update at 6 p.m. — The store reopened after another health inspection this afternoon, employees said. Inspectors found mice droppings there earlier today, according to NBC Washington.

Read our original story below:

A national grocery chain in Adams Morgan is closed for now after a food safety and hygiene inspector reported finding evidence of pests there yesterday, according to the D.C. Department of Health.

The Safeway at 1747 Columbia Road NW currently can’t serve customers for “failing to minimize the presence of insects, rodents and other pests on the premises,” the DOH said in a notice yesterday.

Security guards turned people away at the store’s front doors last night, according to one person who tried to shop there.

Workers were seen cleaning inside the Safeway when a Borderstan reporter visited earlier this morning. One employee said they hope to reopen the supermarket later today but declined to comment further.

This isn’t the first Adams Morgan business closed by health inspectors in recent months. The health department shuttered neighborhood deli So’s Your Mom (1831 Columbia Road NW) in October and Pop’s SeaBar (1817 Columbia Rd. NW) in September. Both restaurants reopened soon after the closures.

The DOH didn’t immediately provide any further details about the closure. The agency typically releases full reports on closures within a week or two of its inspections.

Photos and additional reporting by Andrew Ramonas