Acme Markets has been allowed to reopen to customers after providing the necessary documentation to pass the City's health inspection, although four health code violations persist.
The reinspection report published on Sept. 9 by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health's Office of Food Protection cleared Acme, located at 40th and Walnut streets, to reopen to the public.
PDPH Media Coordinator Matt Rankin wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian that the grocery store’s initial closure was “due to an inability to produce certified accredited program documents,” but that Acme has since been able to resume operations because “they produced proper documentation.”
On Sept. 8, the PDPH ordered Acme to temporarily cease operations and vacate the building immediately. An inspection report included details of a live mouse in Acme’s poultry prep room and mice feces in several areas on both floors of the supermarket. A sign posted on the grocery store’s door confirmed a suspension in activity, in accordance with the PDPH.
The reinspection report notes two “repeat violations” from the preceding investigation along with two new violations discovered by the second report. Acme has corrected three previous violations from the Sept. 8 report.
Acme must correct the remaining four violations or face potential revocation of the supermarket’s health license and “other legal action” under Section 6-502 of the Philadelphia Health Code, according to the reinspection report.
Repeat violations included continued observations of debris on the floor beneath the oven in the hot food prep area and hood filters with an “accumulation of grease.”
The inspector also added that there were two new violations: cutting boards with “deep scratches and scoring” in the delicatessen prep station, eliminating effective cleaning and sanitizing practices, and burned-out lights beneath a ventilation hood.
There were no observations of mice activity or rodent feces in the reinspection report.
Previous inspections of Acme’s University City location were conducted on July 18, May 17, and Sept. 16, 2021. The grocery store first opened on Oct. 23, 2020, replacing the Fresh Grocer that had closed the March prior.
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