Lots of mouse poop, more cockroaches, stubborn mold at Wichita KS restaurants, hotels
Fresh and old mouse feces, an ongoing cockroach infestation, mold that won’t go away at a school and several instances of mishandled food are among violations Kansas Department of Agriculture inspectors discovered during recent local food safety and lodging inspections.
Each week, The Eagle adds to its searchable database of failed inspections from Sedgwick County. From Dec. 1-7, eight Wichita-area restaurants, stores, hotels, schools 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 60 others deemed compliant with food safety and lodging rules.
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 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. 11 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
BurgDogs at Towne East Square, 7700 E. Kellogg Drive, Suite VC05 in Wichita — Seven violations on Dec. 2 during a routine inspection. Violations include no sanitizer available, hand-washing sink used for storing clean food utensils, unlabeled spray bottle with blue liquid, no written plan for cleaning up vomiting or diarrhea incidents, no food probe thermometer, employee touching face with gloved hands then handling food, no paper towels at hand-washing sink. Next inspection: Dec. 12.
Chicken Chicken, 2419 E. 13th St. in Wichita — Three violations on Dec. 4 during a follow-up inspection. Violations include approximately two dozen fresh mouse droppings in various locations including bathroom and kitchen, evidence of mice gnawing on wall material and sealing foam, sanitizer not set up in manual three-compartment sink, four to six dozen fresh mouse droppings and more old mouse droppings accumulated in various areas of the restaurant. Next inspection: Feb. 4.
Comfort Inn East Wichita, 9525 E. Corporate Hills Drive in Wichita — Five violations on Dec. 5 during a routine inspection. Violations include gravy that wasn’t dated correctly, frozen egg mix thawing in sink instead of in refrigerator, no test strips on site for sanitizing solutions, no thermometers on site, gravy at breakfast buffet bar wasn’t kept hot enough. Next inspection: Dec. 15.
Garden Plain Elementary School, 700 N. Section Line Road in Garden Plain — Five violations on Dec. 3 during a routine inspection. Violations include leaky condenser in walk-in cooler, several dead small insects in dry storage area and dried rodent feces near washing machine, shelving under condenser in walk-in cooler has build up of gray and white mold that comes back weekly, crack in exterior door allows light and potentially pests through, fresh rodent droppings in dry storage area. Next inspection: Dec. 13.
Guelaguetza Market, 2835 S. Hydraulic in Wichita — Three violations on Dec. 4 during a follow-up inspection. Violations include dead cockroaches in various locations including the bathroom and meat area, live juvenile cockroach crawling on storage area floor, several cardboard boxes and miscellaneous items piled in back storage area. Next inspection: Feb. 4.
Kababs, 3101 Rock Road, Suite 110 in Wichita — Five violations on Dec. 3 during a follow-up inspection. Violations include employee handling raw meat then touching clean items without changing gloves, raw beef stored above cooked chicken curry, potato salad and other items on buffet cold holding line not kept cold enough, cooked chicken in hot holding unit not kept hot enough, no hot water under pressure at hand-washing sinks. Next inspection: Feb. 3.
Stucky Middle School, 4545 N. Broadview Circle in Wichita — Two violations on Dec. 2 during a routine inspection. Violations include no hot water at some hand-washing sinks, dried rodent droppings in dock area. Next inspection: Dec. 12.
Tom’s Lotus Garden, 822 S. Broadway in Wichita — One violation on Dec. 3 during an inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. Violation includes live roach activity on glue traps throughout restaurant and one egg sack on top of the ice machine, cockroaches are “living in the suspended areas of the building.” Next inspection: Feb. 3.
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.
