After a 10-day hiatus, Double Dragon Foods — the largest grocer in St. Paul’s North End — may reopen as soon as this weekend.

St. Paul’s Department of Safety and Inspections recently condemned the building that is home to the popular ethnic grocery at Rice Street and Maryland Avenue and ordered the location shut down. The store owners have appealed the revocation of their fire certificate of occupancy to the St. Paul City Council, which will hear arguments Wednesday.

Issued Sept. 19, the “Notice of Condemnation-Unfit for Human Habitation-Order to Vacate” at 121 W. Maryland Ave. raised 14 serious concerns uncovered by a city inspection the day before.

Among them, wastewater was observed leaking and dripping throughout the basement and pooling on the floor. Inspectors noted a putrid basement odor. The notice asked owners to “eliminate mold-like substances on walls, ceiling and floor throughout the entire basement level” and called attention to “evidence of rodents in various areas throughout the building.”

Inspectors also pointed to electric cords used in place of permanent wiring, damaged electric fixtures and missing electrical cover plates. There were also obstructed exits, meat prep and seafood prep areas kept in unsanitary conditions, and grease and grime obstructing kitchen vents.

Howard Sussman, an attorney for the store owners, said many of those issues have since been dealt with. He expected the store could reopen as soon as Saturday.

ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS

The store owners appeared before the city’s legislative hearing officer, Marcia Moermond, on Tuesday, as did a city building inspector. At the time, Moermond said that she would recommend to the city council that the condemnation orders be lifted if the owners completed a checklist of emergency work items.

On Friday, Moermond informed Sussman that she had received confirmation from city inspectors that those conditions had been met for now, and that the store could reopen, even in advance of Wednesday’s hearing.

A reinspection is scheduled for Oct. 19.

In the written appeal to the city council, general manager Bona Ku — nephew to store owner Che Ku — listed a series of steps the store had taken to come into compliance, including cleaning kitchen hoods, hiring Kirtland Electric for electrical repairs and re-tiling floor areas.

“We have cleaned up wastewater and largely stopped further leaking,” said Bona Ku, in his appeal letter.

A NORTH END STAPLE

The reopening would be a relief for many North End residents, especially a sizable community of ethnic Karen who fled persecution in Myanmar (Burma) and arrived in St. Paul as refugees.

“Double Dragon is an important grocery for the North End,” said Rich Holst, chair of the North End Neighborhood Organization, noting how the grocer’s food counter packages unsold items in small plastic bags for discounted sales every evening. “It’s important for the local community. It’s a busy place. … You could go in there and get quite a meal for a $1.”

The North End is also served by smaller Latino and Southeast Asian ethnic groceries such as Tiger Market on Rice Street. Nevertheless, said Holst, many North End residents have pined for a larger grocery option such as Fresh Thyme, Aldi or Trader Joe’s.

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Moses Moe, program manager with the Karen Organization of Minnesota in St. Paul, noted that the North End is home to many ethnic Karen refugees, and Double Dragon has met their needs for familiar cuisine. A few smaller mom-and-pop Karen grocers have also emerged in the area. The store closing took him by surprise.