Pendleton Pike Walmart food license suspended after failed a health inspection

What was once a place to go grocery shopping has now been turned into a nightmare for some shoppers.

The Marion County Public Health Department suspended the food license of the Walmart at 10735 Pendleton Pike on March 22 after the store failed a health inspection.

The inspection came after a customer reported to the health department regarding mouse droppings and mice on the shelves near the bread area. The department is monitoring the progress of the store and a reinspection was scheduled for March 24. 

According to MCPHD, the food license will not be reinstated until the violations are corrected and the establishment passes the inspection. 

Lawrence Township resident Larita Conwell took her cousin to the Pendleton Pike Walmart on March 23 to shop for groceries. While waiting in the parking lot, her cousin called to say some sections in the store were blocked off due to a rat infestation. 

Conwell shops at that Walmart multiple times a week because it is “one of the few stores that we have here on the far east side,” she said.

Conwell said it was foul the store was still open for business, adding that the health department needs to keep the store on probation to make sure it is kept up. 

MCPHD said they will provide an update when the information from the reinspection is available. 

Update: According to an updated statement from the MCPHD, after reinspection on March 24 of the Walmart located at 10735 Pendleton Pike, the store’s food license remains suspended.

Inspectors with Food and Consumer Safety at the Marion County Public Health Department determined that more progress is needed to reinstate the store’s food license. MCPHD will continue to monitor progress toward achieving compliance of violations, and a recheck by the health department is expected to happen this week. 

This story will be updated when the Marion County Public Health Department completes its health inspections on the Pendleton Pike Walmart this week.

Contact Indianapolis Recorder staff writer Timoria Cunningham at 317-762-7854 or timoriac@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @_timoriac.