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Charlestown discount store shut over rodent infestation so bad mice were chewing through water bottles and scurrying through the aisles

Update: The store passed a re-inspection on April 18 and was allowed to re-open.

A Boston health inspector last week ordered the Dollar Tree, 45 Vine St. in Charlestown, shut until it can prove it's solved a major rodent infestation that included evidence of mice chewing through bags of chips and peanuts, then washing the snacks down with water from plastic bottles they also gnawed through.

According to the inspector's report following a March 30 inspection, violations included bags of chips and peanuts that had been chewed open and rodent droppings found at the front area near where bottles of water were stored, with this note: "Manager stated at time of inspection that water bottles have been eaten thru at times."

The report continues: "Droppings and urine residue found under shelving in aisles 3-6" and throughout the back storage area. Also: "2-3 Mice seen running in aisles at time of inspection."

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Comments

eww. and people buy the food there and eat it willingly. I don't think I've ever been in a Dollar Tree that wasn't run down.

But I just read an article about Dollar Tree and its parent company and how some of their employees are some of the lowest paid employees in the country. You think the employees care about the store? At Minimum wage, probably not

Its also good to note that this Dollar Tree is inside an old church. Drat, I keep meaning to there. I just want to look around to see how they made this into a Dollar Tree.

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Dollar tree goes to neighborhoods that aren't served by affordable grocery stores and provides cheaper groceries and other things. The key is that their demographic is low income people who can't shop at Whole Foods. They don't have other good access to affordable food so they shop at Dollar Tree. It's disgusting, I can't imagine their warehouses are any better than their stores. wonder if the warehouses get inspections.....

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They never moved out after the church closed.

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I came across this church turned Dollar Tree while wandering through Charlestown a few years ago and I still remember it clearly; this is one of the oddest storefront I've ever seen.

Google street view gives a decent idea but it's better appreciated in person.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.376984,-71.0566462,3a,88.2y,16.65h,104.87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sr-_UxTU8Yi3nxWB7XUKvUQ!2e0!5s20180901T000000!7i16384!8i8192

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There's a wide range of grocers between Whole Foods and Dollar Tree.

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A while back I used to work at Deluca's on Beacon Hill and the first thing I noticed when tasked with fixing up the shelves was the mice poop on everything, including food products. And I was not told to throw the contaminated product away. Rather I was instructed to just brush the poop off and keep the products on the shelves. It was disgusting.

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But this is the first churchfront store.

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The store is really in the church basement. Not sure what the former sanctuary on the first floor is used for, if anything.

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Charlestown resident and regular Dollar Tree shopper (also Whole Foods and lots of other grocery stores) here.
I don't doubt the inspector's report (which sounds a lot like what they often find in supermarkets/restaurants) but it's not like the place is constantly overrun by mice. I haven't seen any in dozens of visits there.

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Must be nice to have the privilege of choice where to get your groceries and the income to afford it. Since Johnnys went away, it's a lot of neighborhood folks' only option for affordable groceries. This is criminal on Dollar Tree's part, not something to shame people over.

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Please read and acknowledge that you've read this. Just because sweet treats happen to be cheap it doesn't mean you should buy them.

Thank you, Management

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Love the manager just throwing the store under the bus. Minimum wage + a 5 cent "premium" to do all the payroll and scheduling isn't worth it. Burn it down.

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although this is not a great store, there should be more blue bikes at Grocery stores and other destinations. If we can't have rental bikes that you can leave all over, then we need to make more of an effort to put them where people end up.

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