Blood leaking on bag of cheese, roaches, moldy food found at Wichita KS restaurants, hotels
Chicken blood leaking on cheese, roach infestations, moldy foods and raw meat stored on dirty shelves are among violations Kansas Department of Agriculture inspectors discovered during recent local food safety and lodging inspections.
Every week, The Eagle adds to its searchable database of failed inspections from Sedgwick County. From Nov. 24 to Nov. 30, nine Wichita-area restaurants, stores, hotels and other businesses that serve or sell food or rent rooms to the public made the non-compliant list.
Inspectors found few or no violations at more than 30 others deemed compliant with food safety and lodging rules. You can see a list of those entities here.
Inspections are meant to protect the public from foodborne illnesses and other public health risks. Violations are common.
Businesses can fail if they have too many problems, certain types of violations or issues that can’t be fixed right away. Most of the time, they correct issues in front of an inspector. Examples of things that can be addressed immediately are serving food that’s more than a week old, employees mishandling food and dirty kitchen conditions.
But sometimes issues might take days or weeks to correct, like pest infestations, power outages and plumbing problems. It’s rare, but a business may temporarily shut down over violations.
Places that fail are usually reinspected within 10 days.
The list in this story was compiled on Dec. 4 using information available from the state on that date. It only contains entities in Sedgwick County, but you can search food and lodging inspection results elsewhere in Kansas at https://foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx.
Out-of-compliance inspections
Afghan Halal Market, 1044 S. Oliver in Wichita — Thirteen violations on Nov. 26 during a routine inspection. Violations include several foods that don’t have business information or their common names on their labels in English, ingredients and allergens weren’t listed on some labels, raw beef stored over cooked beef and chicken hot dogs, raw meats stored without protection from contamination, boxes of produce stored on the floor, no test strips for chlorine sanitizer, raw ground beef and raw chicken weren’t cold enough in a display cold case, raw meat was stored directly on a dusty and dirty shelf in the walk-in cooler, no sanitizer available, moldy taro and cucumbers. Next inspection: Dec. 6.
Best Western Plus Wichita West Airport Inn, 3800 W. Kellogg Drive in Wichita — Two violations on Nov. 27 during a follow-up inspection. Violations include raw shell eggs stored above ready-to-eat pastries and fruits, live and dead roaches seen in the kitchen. Next inspection: Dec. 7.
Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Wichita Airport, 2098 S. Airport Road in Wichita — Five violations on Nov. 25 during a modified complaint inspection. Violations include no state-approved plan for vacuum packaging raw Italian sausage and cooked sausage and chicken, no state-approved plan for cooking chicken sous-vide, cooked chicken wasn’t labeled with its preparation date, no paper towels at hand-washing sink, cooked pasta and Italian sausage didn’t have the correct preparation dates on them, cooked chicken wasn’t labeled with its preparation date. Next inspection: Dec. 10.
Joy Tea, 11414 E. Central, Suite 100 in Wichita — Six violations on Nov. 26 during a routine inspection. Violations include no written plan for cleaning up vomiting or diarrhea incidents, boba pearls not held at the proper temperature, several commercially prepared foods including coconut milk and cream cheese spread weren’t labeled with the dates their packages were opened, no soap at hand-washing sink, several foods made at the restaurant including waffle batter and milk tea weren’t labeled with their preparation dates, no food thermometers on site. Next inspection: Dec. 6.
Local Flavor, 5400 E. Central in Wichita — Ten violations on Nov. 26 during a routine inspection. Violations include posole in hot holding not kept at a high-enough temperature, several kitchen utensils including cutting boards and knives weren’t cleaned often enough, no sanitizer in dishwashing machine, no written plan for cleaning up vomiting or diarrhea incidents, dead fruit flies in bottles of Kentucky Gentleman and Jim Beam, several foods in refrigeration including ribs and raw fish weren’t kept cold enough, no verifiable employee illness policy in place, dessert chimichangas and rice weren’t labeled with their preparation dates, dirty meat slicer, no consumer advisory on the menu warning customers of the risks of eating undercooked burgers and eggs. Next inspection: Dec. 6.
McDonald’s, 1645 S. Webb in Wichita — Four violations on Nov. 25 during a routine inspection. Violations include raw bacon stored above ready-to-eat sausage gravy, build-up of dried ice cream on ice cream machine, shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes weren’t kept cold enough, leaking backflow prevention device at mop sink. Next inspection: Dec. 5.
Royal Lodge, 320 E. Kellogg in Wichita — Four violations on Nov. 26 during a modified complaint inspection. Violations include pest activity that the owner knew about but didn’t immediately report to the state, adult roach on the wall in the bathroom of one room, smoke alarm was missing batteries and didn’t work, the motel was renting a room infested with pests. Next inspection: Dec. 6.
Smash Bros (mobile vendor/food truck), 9809 W. Par Lane in Wichita — Seven violations on Nov. 26 during its first operational inspection after licensing. Violations include no test strips for dish sanitizer, no food probe thermometer, unlabeled chemical bottles, raw hamburger thawing at room temperature, hand-washing sink blocked by a tote and bag of onions, hand-washing sink filled with tubs and bottles, raw hamburger stored above commercial sauces, no water available at hand-washing sink. Next inspection: Dec. 6.
Wyndham Garden Wichita Downtown, 221 E. Kellogg in Wichita — Eight violations on Nov. 27 during a routine inspection. Violations include no test strips for chlorine sanitizer used in dishwashing machine, dirty knives and can opener, dirty pans and dough rolling pin, cream cheese and butter were stored at room temperature, bag of raw chicken leaking blood was stored on top of a case of bagged shredded cheese, no paper towels at hand-washing sinks, waffle mix was stored at room temperature but wasn’t labeled with the time it was taken out of refrigeration, no staff was around when the breakfast buffet was open, molded black olives. Next inspection: Dec. 7.
See a problem? Here’s where to complain
If you see problems at a food or lodging establishment, you can file a complaint.
To notify the state about unsavory or questionable conditions anywhere that serves or sells food to the public, email kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767. You can also file a complaint at www.foodsafetykansas.org.
To report an illness you think was caused by a restaurant, food or event where food was served, contact the Kansas Department of Health and Environment at 877-427-7317 or www.foodsafetykansas.org.
Complaints about conditions at hotels and motels can be submitted at www.agriculture.ks.gov/public-resources/comments-complaints/lodging-complaint.
For more information about foodborne illnesses, visit www.foodsafety.gov.
Note: Sometimes addresses listed — especially for mobile vendors and food trucks — are not where food is actually served to the public. Contact those establishments directly for specific service locations.
The violation summaries were compiled and drafted with the help of AI tools. They were fact-checked for accuracy and edited by Wichita Eagle journalists.
