Cayucos Super Market closed after health inspector discovers rat, mouse infestation

San Luis Obispo County public health officials on Wednesday closed a Cayucos grocery store due to a rat and mouse infestation.

A county Environmental Health Services official first inspected the Cayucos Super Market, located at 301 S. Ocean Ave., after receiving a complaint about the store, according to Laurie Salo, a county supervising environmental health specialist.

The inspector found evidence of mice and rats and gave the owners a few days to clean up the market and fix the problem, Salo said.

But upon re-inspecting the store, the official found owners had not cleaned up the initial mess and discovered fresh evidence of rodents, including droppings and bite marks, she said. A pest control company confirmed the market was infested with rodents, Salo said.

The inspector closed the store Wednesday due to significant code violations, including contaminated surfaces. Market employees could not be reached for comment.

“We closed the facility to give them some time to get their pest control in there,” Salo said.

Before re-opening the market, the owners will need to have specialists get rid of the infestation and seal all openings rodents could potentially use to enter the store, Salo said. They’ll also need to clean and sanitize the entire market.

Salos could not say when the market would re-open but said once the store is clean and rodent-free, an inspector will re-assess it and verify it’s safe for customers.

This story was originally published December 29, 2017 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Cayucos Super Market closed after health inspector discovers rat, mouse infestation."