Bugs in booze, stained beds, roaches, bloody floor at Wichita KS restaurants, hotels
A bloody walk-in cooler floor, bugs in bottles of liquor, stained and ripped bedding, cockroaches on an ice machine, dirty kitchen conditions and several foods that weren’t kept hot or cold enough to prevent pathogen growth 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. 8-14, seven Wichita-area restaurants, stores, hotels, schools or 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 50 others deemed compliant with food safety and lodging rules.
Inspections are meant to protect the public from foodborne illnesses and other 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 kitchens.
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. 19 using information available from the state on that date. The list 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
Club Rodeo, 3426 E. MacArthur in Wichita — Three violations on Dec. 11 during a routine inspection. Violations include no written plan for cleaning up vomiting or diarrhea incidents, winged insects found in liquor bottles, container of whipped topping wasn’t labeled with package opening date, no hand-washing sink in the bar area. Next inspection: Dec. 21.
Economy Hotel Plus+ Wichita, 5805 W. Kellogg Drive in Wichita — Fifteen violations on Dec. 10 during a complaint inspection. Violations include stains and dried liquids or food debris on room walls, mold and grime in refrigerator, no carbon monoxide detector in room with gas furnace, holes and burns in bed covers, stained sheets, leaky tub, missing toilet tank cover and shower control handles, climate control unit didn’t work in a room, smoke detectors didn’t work in some rooms, no emergency management plan available, no records showing smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are tested regularly, missing lamp covers on light fixtures in rooms, no single-use gloves in laundry room, stained floors in rooms, the carbon monoxide detector in the laundry room didn’t work, fire extinguishers haven’t been inspected in over a year. Next inspection: Dec. 30.
Fujisan Sushi at Wichita State University, 1845 N. Fairmount in Wichita — Three violations on Dec. 9 during its first operational inspection after licensing. Violations include raw tuna stored directly above a box of cucumbers, sushi not marked with the time it was prepared or removed from temperature control, packaged dumplings and sushi rolls weren’t kept cold enough. Next inspection: Dec. 19.
Las Islas Marias, 2150 N. Amidon in Wichita — Eight violations on Dec. 11 during a routine inspection. Violations include pies and flan for sale weren’t labeled with any vendor information, ceviche and cut red cabbage weren’t labeled with their preparation or package opening dates, puddle of beef blood on walk-in cooler floor, blood dripping onto bag of raw carrots, soup wasn’t kept hot enough, raw ceviche fish and raw shrimp were stored improperly over ready-to-eat salsas and sauces in the walk-in cooler, last sale dates were missing from shell stock tags, raw shell oysters weren’t kept cold enough, chlorine sanitizer was not set up and there were no test strips on site to measure sanitizer concentration. Next inspection: Dec. 21.
Local Flavor, 5400 E. Central, Suite 100 in Wichita — One violation on Dec. 10 during a follow-up inspection. Foods including cheeses and tomatoes were out of temperature in a refrigerated preparation table. Next inspection: Dec. 20.
Thai An Oriental Market, 2425 S. Hillside, Suite 500 in Wichita — Seven violations on Dec. 10 during an inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. Violations include pork rolls and other foods for sale that had no date markings, fried bananas and fried pastries weren’t covered to protect them from contamination, the market was letting customers self-serve raw fish even though that is not permitted, incorrect labeling on items, cooked corn was sitting out at room temperature, the business was vacuum packaging raw fish and raw pork intestines without the required approval from the state, labels on frozen vacuum-packaged raw tuna didn’t say the fish needs to be kept frozen. Next inspection: Feb. 10.
Wasabi Sushi Bar West, 2404 N. Maize Road in Wichita — Six violations on Dec. 9 during a modified complaint inspection. Violations include grease and food debris build-up in server area and behind kitchen equipment, employee washed their hands at the wrong sink, the restaurant did not label sushi rice and other foods with the time they were removed from refrigeration or heat, live roaches on the side of the ice machine, employee didn’t use soap to wash hands, employee didn’t use soap or sanitizer to wash dirty utensils. Next inspection: Dec. 19.
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.
This story was originally published December 21, 2024 at 4:55 AM.
