Grove St. Odor

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

I recently moved from Gorham St. to Winsow Ave., and in doing so have walked a little more frequently on Grove St.

Has the stench - and I think it's coming from McKinnon's, but could be wrong - from the dumpster behind McKinnons through Cristo's always been there?  I mean, it can really knock you over.  I love McKinnon's, but am getting a little ascared of buying stuff from them, although I'm also assuming that the smell is more from refuse in their dumpster than anything they're selling.  

Maybe I just never noticed it before?  I would think there would have been a complaint...

Comments

[ron_newman]

I've noticed it too. It's absolutely disgusting. I vaguely recall someone mentioning it here before, but probably in a comment buried deeply in a discussion about something else.

Perhaps a call to the city Health Department (or 311) is in order?

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

I walked there this afternoon, too. I've noticed the problem before, but never this bad! Phew!

[firepail.livejournal.com]

it's pretty gut-wrenching...

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've smelled it, but never in the store itself, which indicates to me its their dumpster.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Are they the only ones who use that dumpster? It's also right behind Martsa and Christo's. I assume any nasty old food waste could be making that smell, and there are three food-selling businesses there.

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

I guess I've seen McKinnon's employees out by that dumpster, which is why I'm assuming it's them, but it's also correct that it's the only dumpster behind those three food places - could they really all be sharing one dumpster?
And, in spite of the smell, I've bought food from McKinnon's since first mentioning it (and note: I'm still alive). But that area is tough to walk through.
Just got off the phone with 311, they're letting the health department know. I mentioned all three food places when I called.

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

(I've bought food from McKinnon's since first NOTICING it)

[ron_newman]

If that doesn't get things fixed within a week or so, I suggest next contacting Alderman Gewirtz, Alderman Connolly, and one or both of the local newspapers. Too bad you didn't post a couple days earlier, or I would have brought it up at the Davis Square Task Force meeting. We have another opportunity at the ResiStat meeting on November 5.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

It seems to be a problem that's pretty persistent. It's the scent of animal fats going rancid. This is almost certainly not from the dumpster itself but from residues and other bits and pieces on the pavement around the dumpster.

My suspicion is that this is a result of the combined input of all of the food-selling businesses in that block of buildings. All are good, and McKinnon's is pretty great, but yeah, the smell is really trying.

[ron_newman]

And this may be the reason residential neighbors on Cottage Ave. so strongly objected to the idea of restaurants in the Citizens Bank building.

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

It surprises me that this seems to be one of the first discussions of this smell - I figured it would be more of an "Has anyone noticed the airplane noise?" conversations.

I lived right in Davis for a year and this smell was frequently a problem. I have also smelled it INSIDE McKinnons, but that could just be the dumpster smell making its way inside. Never had any problem with the quality of the meat, though, and I often hold my breath when shopping there...

[righteousness-1.livejournal.com]

What smell? I never smell anything. If you don't like it, leave. What do you expect living in a city? I love smells. Maybe there is something wrong with your nose. Smells have to go somewhere. NIMBY.

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

It has smelt awful, for at least a year. I can't tell if it's Cristo's Martsa, or McKinnon's.

Anyone remember if the smell existed during the months when Martsa was renovating?

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

It did. I specifically remember having a conversation about it during that time, as my companion and I had lamented that Marsta was closed before we rounded the corner.

[ron_newman]

And by mentioning Martsa, you reminded me exactly where this subject previously came up.

[m-b-w.livejournal.com]

It was the early 90s when I lived in the Highland Avenue apt. near that foul dumpster so this problem has been around for a long time. I have also lived near restaurant dumpsters and have never experienced anything like the McKinnon's stench.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

Yes I've noticed this prettymuch every day, it's horrid. I agree with above postings that McKinnon's itself strikes me as very clean and nice, but the dumpster is a real issue.

[nungnung.livejournal.com]

That area has had a problem with stench off and on for years. Once, I also took a nasty fall on the sidewalk because it was...urk...coated in grease.

[unferth.livejournal.com]

The stench has been there on and off since at least 2003. It's unpleasant, but it's probably not a sign of anything out of the ordinary.

[blondeamazon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I seem to recall it being there, to varying degrees, since I moved tp the general Boston area and started visiting Davis in 2001. I also noticed that it was particularly noxious recently. I bet the dumpsters have never been hosed down and cleaned, so it is an acumulation. I am glad someone called and the health dept can take a look at it. Hopefully there is something that can be done to solve it and prevent it from coming back.

[obie119.livejournal.com]

Actually, I've smelled weird smells inside McKinnon's too. I stopped going there after a while because the combination of smell and too-good-to-be-true pricing made me wonder.
In fairness, I never got any bad meat from them - it was just a personal preference thing.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

I agree.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Yeah. McKinnon's is easily the worst-smelling store in Davis.
On the other side of the block, though, it's worth walking into Sessa's Italian Grocery just to inhale deeply. MMMMmmmmmmmm, I love the smell of that store!

Its the butcher

[msiebler.livejournal.com]

The smell is 100% due to McKinnon's; and its because they do clean their dumpsters w/ high pressure water, which then runs down into the storm drain in the parking lot and turns rancid there. That's also why the lot is always slippery; since the runoff leaves a lot of grease behind.
Not sure why its worse recently; which i have also noticed. Maybe the drain is getting more clogged w/ grease.
Not sure what the city can do about it; I think its allowed to clean their dumpsters in this way.

Re: Its the butcher

[ron_newman]

You're not supposed to dump fat into storm drains. Many years ago the city cited another company, 'Research Foods' in Boynton Yards, for doing this. I think they eventually took it by eminent domain and forced it to close.

Re: Its the butcher

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine this happening to McKinnon's, though. I can already envision the flotilla of double-parked Buicks encircling the square in protest...

Re: Its the butcher

[ron_newman]

Here are three search results for 'Research Foods' in the Boston Globe archives. If you have a Globe subscription, you can read the articles for free on their site.

[msiebler.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying that they're dumping grease; but i do see them often cleaning their dumpsters and when they do the water runoff goes into the storm drain. And i bet that dirty soapy water has a lot of grease in it.

[ron_newman]

Right, it's not the same order of magnitude as what Research Foods did, but it's still enough to cause a problem for the neighborhood (and possibly also for the sewer system).

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. My wife and I call it "Stinky Street". When she was pregnant, we couldn't even walk that block and had to loop up into Davis to get from Highland to Elm.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I avoid walking that block, and I barely even have a sense of smell.

[goodkittieavril.livejournal.com]

I've been noticing it too. It's probably Cristo's...and it's naaaaaaaaasty!

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised some of you are just talking about this now. Like someone else mentioned I figured this would be like the "airplane noise" threads. I'm not sure why the smell would have worsened. Maybe they need a new dumpster? A professional cleaning company to come out? The smell in general has always been there. At least from what I remember that's going back into the 80s. I haven't eaten meat in years but when I was a kid 70s/80s [no age jokes, lol] just about every family I new shopped there. The smell has been around so long that I don't think it will go any where any time soon. Maybe try to walk different blocks.

[wonkywheels.livejournal.com]

OMG, yes, it smells HORRIBLE back there. If I'm walking past there, I have to hold my breath.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

I can't believe no one has ever called 311 about this -- I mean I haven't either, because I don't want to be the bad guy....but maybe someone should just do it. I mean there are plenty of butchers around Boston and this is not an issue for them, so I imagine it is something that can be remedied.