An Orion grocery store is temporarily closed while the company deals with a rodent invasion.
Customers complained on social media about the Kroger at 3097 S. Baldwin Road, which closed Tuesday. A company spokeswoman emailed the following statement to The Oakland Press Wednesday afternoon:
“We take the health and safety of our customers very seriously. As soon as we were made aware of the incident, we took immediate action to voluntarily close,” she said. “Our professional pest control company conducted an immediate inspection to ensure any activity is removed from our store. Additionally, we have implemented strict sanitation protocols, initiated a thorough deep cleaning, and will maintain ongoing inspections.”
She said the store will reopen “as soon as possible.”
Grocery stores inspections are conducted by Michigan’s agriculture and rural development department, MDARD.
“MDARD is in touch with the store following an inspection that resulted in a voluntary closure by Kroger,” said Lynsey Mukomel, MDARD’s
spokeswoman. “We’re unable to share anything more at this time due to it being an ongoing investigation.”
Public records show an anonymous complaint about mice to MDARD led to a Dec. 9 inspection.
The inspector found mouse droppings on shelves in three aisles of the store, including near pet food and bread. The state inspector said pet food bags were not damaged. The inspector set a Dec. 30 deadline for the problem to be corrected and notes that the store has no previous violations.
A state inspector visited the store on Sept. 19 after in response to a complaint about an offensive smell traced to a recent grease-trap cleaning but no violations were found.
The MDARD record for a Dec. 9, 2025, inspection at Kroger, 3097 S. Baldwin Road in Orion shows the inspector found evidence of rodent droppings. (MDARD public record)
The MDARD record for a Dec. 9, 2025, inspection at Kroger, 3097 S. Baldwin Road in Orion shows the inspector found evidence of rodent droppings. (MDARD public record)