For most Penn students, shopping at The Fresh Grocer is a part of life. Because of its large inventory and convenient location, the supermarket is an invaluable resource for the University and West Philadelphia communities. When the store closed last week, the area temporarily lost use of a store that provides an important service. But the community is more hurt by the fact that the supermarket may not be telling customers the whole truth as to why the shut down occurred.
Philadelphia Department of Public Health spokesman Jeff Moran has repeatedly said the store was forced to close due to a court order following multiple heath-inspection failures. Fresh Grocer representatives, however, are singing a different tune. Initially, Fresh Grocer management said the store was closed because of refrigeration problems. Later, a Fresh Grocer spokeswoman said the supermarket also voluntarily decided to shut down in order to fix health problems ahead of a self-requested reinspection.
If Fresh Grocer were in fact mandated to close because it failed health inspections, it is doing itself a disservice by not being upfront. Health and safety is of utmost importance to food buyers, and any sense that Fresh Grocer was less-than-honest could cause unease among customers that might lead them to take their business elsewhere.
While we’re happy that whatever problems existed seem to have been fixed in a timely manner, we hope that in the future, health problems are prevented before they occur. If Fresh Grocer has fresher standards, pehaps they will never need to close again.
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