Mouse Infestation Prompts Temporary Closure Of Astoria Pizzeria

ASTORIA, QUEENS — The cheesy pies at an Astoria pizzeria were reportedly attracting more than hungry people to the shop, since the eatery shuttered last week partly due to the presence of mice.

3 Bros 99 Cent Pizza, a dollar slice pizzeria located at 25-03 30th Avenue, was closed by the Department of Health on Nov. 17th after an inspector hit the bakery with several violations including the presence of mice, records show.

A worker at the shop, however, told Patch on Tuesday that they needed to renovate the shop's floors and walls and are now open for business again; a spokesperson for the Department of Health confirmed with Patch that the pizzeria has "corrected the violations and was authorized to reopen on [Monday]."

The recent closure, though, did not come as a surprise to some neighbors, who know about the pizzeria's storied health history.

After photos of the shuttered store were posted on an Astoria Reddit thread, one neighbor described the pizzeria as "disgusting," adding that this is the second time that 3 Bros shuttered due to "terrible hygiene."

While Patch could not confirm with the Health Department that the agency closed 3 Bros in the past, the pizzeria has racked up a host of violations since opening in 2016.

Mice and fly violations at the shop date back to 2019, and the first notices of "public health hazards" at the pizzeria — namely storing food at unsafe temperatures — were recorded in 2017, records show.

This most-recent shutdown, however, was prompted by a routine inspection on Nov. 8, according to a Department of Health spokesperson.

At that inspection the agency saw "multiple areas of non-compliance with food safety requirements" — including evidence of mice, cockroaches and flies as well as issues with food contamination and plumbing — but determined that the pizzeria could immediately correct the issues and stay open.

In order to get shut down, restaurants must have committed public health hazards that cannot be corrected during the inspection, DOH records show.

When the agency returned two weeks later, however, they found that 3 Bros had not complied with the necessary safety corrections. "We concluded that the restaurant could not operate safely and required them to close," the spokesperson said.

As of this week, however, the pizzeria has reportedly fixed the violations and reopened, though not all neighbors are convinced they'll go back.

"It wouldn't make sense to go there even if it was open," wrote one neighbor on the Reddit thread, noting that in addition to the past health violations they don't think the pizza tastes good.

"There's plenty of other options for a slice nearby, both cheap and pricey," they wrote.