The Starbucks at South Station in Boston has been shut down after a video showed rodents eating the food in the display case. The video taken on Wednesday night around 10 p.m. also shows the animals climbing on the register.
The Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD) sent over an employee to inspect the location after receiving the video. The Starbucks manager told the inspector that an employee had mistakenly left the food out overnight and they had since thrown it all away.
Rodent droppings were also found throughout the coffee chain, including in a cabinet, and fruit flies were seen in the display case. The location had “multiple violations of the Massachusetts Sanitary Code and FDA Food Code,” according to the ISD.
That Starbucks was ordered to close due to the “immediate health hazard.” Its food permit was also temporarily suspended until another inspection can be completed and passed. The manager was told to retrain their staff on how to close properly, and the owner of the Starbucks location was instructed to hire a pest control company to address the “rodent infestation.” The location will also need to be cleaned, sanitized, and disinfected.
Starbucks released a statement about the rodent problem Friday evening, saying, “Our South Station location is temporarily closed while we address a pest issue. We will not reopen until we are confident that the store meets our high standards of cleanliness and safety. We look forward to welcoming our customers back soon.”
Commuters who frequented the Starbucks in the terminal found it “disgusting.”
“It was pretty disturbing. I’m definitely concerned. I don’t get food here in the mornings, but now I am definitely not going to for a while until I hear an update because that did not look good on that TikTok at all,” said Clothilde Donarumo, who was sent the videos by a friend.
“They don’t realize the medical repercussions,” said commuter Jacqui Russo.
Some are hoping that the storefront opens back up soon.
“I definitely miss it right now, even though it’s only been like a day,” said Donarumo
“It’s really convenient for me,” Michelle Hsu said.
A database from the City of Boston showing all past health inspections had no other violations listed for the location, except for an issue with a check in January 2025. The Starbucks was most recently inspected in December 2025 and passed.
Starbucks closed over a dozen stores in Massachusetts last year, including the iconic “Golden Teapot” location. The company cited that the closings were due to “underperforming stores” across the country.
