Health department says inspectors found rodent problem in City Market Building

By Candice Nelson
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: September 20, 2008

Roanoke’s City Market Building is back in the news and a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Health, Bobby Parker, says it’s because of a rodent problem. On Friday, Parker said inspectors went into the building. Now, licenses for the food vendors have been suspended; however, Parker said he’s not sure for how long. Parker added, that the decision to close the building belonged to the property owner.

Friday night, Ten On Your Side learned the market building shut down unexpectedly.
Many of you may have even noticed the “closed for fall cleaning” sign on the door if you went to get lunch Saturday. Customer after customer peeked inside to get a closer look at what was going on.

“Twenty-five years I’ve lived in Roanoke. I’ve never seen the market closed. It’s dependable,” said Sue Bryson, who made the 25-minute trip to the market with her husband, Andy.

The only people going in and out are workers with their trash cans.

We talked to three vendors in the market over the phone. They said the only reason the market building is closed is for cleaning, but declined to say it on camera.

Around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, city manager, Darlene Burcham sent out this statement:

“The food court at the City Market Building was closed on Saturday, September 20, 2008, for a fall cleaning. During this time, the food vendors and the city will address cleanliness and cosmetic issues, such as first-floor painting that cannot be done when the building is open to the public. The market building is over 100 years old and has operated continuously for many years without any downtime for such activity. The temporary closure was mutually agreed to by the vendors and the city. The food court will reopen as soon as all required items have been completed.”

When asked about the issue of rodents, Ten On Your Side was told we would need to talk to the health department.

Vendors didn’t want to talk too much about was going on, but they did say officials had a meeting with them on Friday evening about this clean-up. 

The market building has gotten a lot of news coverage lately. In May, we were the first to tell you about a proposal to revamp the building, including replacing the traditional food court with a marketplace.

At the beginning of this month, Roanoke’s City Council rejected the remodeling proposal, questioning the costs of the project and whether the vendors were thoroughly consulted about it.