Rats spotted near food in downtown Seattle grocery store

SEATTLE — Workers called KIRO 7 after rats were spotted near food in a downtown Seattle grocery store.

Rats are feeding on garbage in an alley at the Kress IGA and are somehow getting through some back doors that lead right into the store.

An employee at the supermarket wanted to talk to KIRO 7 about the rats in the store on the condition of anonymity.

“The rats used to definitely get in the refrigerator and chew up chicken and chew up bacon,” she said.

The employee, who works near the food, sent KIRO 7 pictures of rat traps near where meals are stored.

"I still see droppings in the refrigerator, so I’m sure they're getting in."

KIRO 7 reporter David Ham went inside the Kress IGA store last week as a customer and saw rat droppings under the salad bar.

He then returned Tuesday with a KIRO 7 photographer and asked an employee about the problem.

"We're wondering what's going on with the rats?”

“OK, I’m not the manager at all and I can’t talk about everything that’s going on,” said the employee approached by Ham.

The president of the company that owns the store returned a call from Ham and admitted rats have been in the store, but denied they were near food.

"If, in fact, we have rats in our refrigerator, that’s news to me, but that would be a pretty severe deal,” said Tyler Meyers, president of the Meyers Group.

Ham checked with King County Health inspectors and they also found evidence of rats inside the store in October and November, but inspectors noted the problem seems to be getting better.

The company's president says the store hired a new pest control operator to get rid of the rats.

"I think what you have going on is an inner city problem you have a lot construction going on,  so there are a lot of holes in the ground where the rats used to live,” said Meyers.

KIRO