Gourmet grocer Pusateri's said it is aiming to re-open Saturday after health concerns closed its uptown Toronto store.
A spokesman for the upscale store at Avenue Road and Lawrence Avenue West said professional cleaners have been working through the night to rectify the problem after Toronto Public Health ordered the store closed on Thursday due to a pest infestation and poor sanitation.
Shawn Rusich said Public Health officials were currently at the store Friday morning.
"Tentatively there is a possibility of opening tomorrow (Saturday)," he said. "But it is truly based on making sure the problem goes away."
Rusich also said an early message sent over the social media site Twitter saying the store planned to open by the end of next week was false.
"That account is fraudulent. It has no association with Pusateri's in any capacity," he said. "It is completely inaccurate."
The store, which passed its last health inspection in late August, said the cockroach infestation may have been caused by a shipment of holiday wicker baskets imported from overseas. Rusich said the items have since been removed from the stores and destroyed.
"We expect to open once we have taken all the necessary precautions to ensure this doesn't happen again," Rusich said. "It is not of urgency. We don't look at this of losing money, but about correcting the problem."
