‘Slimy residue,’ cockroaches by coffee, outdated meat at Wichita KS restaurants
Slimy residue, ‘brownish splatter stains,’ a chef who didn’t wash his hands after pulling up his pants, cockroaches crawling around a coffee station, mouse poop, outdated meats, food contamination risks and more are among violations Kansas Department of Agriculture inspectors discovered during recent food safety and lodging inspections in the Wichita area.
Each week, The Eagle adds to its searchable database of failed inspections from Sedgwick County. Seventeen restaurants, hotels and other businesses were non-compliant with state rules from April 13-19.
Inspectors found few or no violations at more than 70 other businesses 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. But 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 ingredients and dirty kitchens. Issues that take longer to correct include 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 April 24 using information available from the state on that date. The list contains places 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 food and hotel inspections
Bierocks Babe, 1017 W. Douglas in Wichita — Five violations on April 19 during a joint inspection. Violations include not logging the time food was put out in the display case, no food thermometer available, truck has a water dispenser but no bucket to catch wastewater behind its food tent, no soap available at hand-washing station, no hot water at hand-washing station. Next inspection: May 3.
Bowlero Wichita, 11413 E. 13th St. in Wichita — One violation on April 16 during a modified complaint inspection. The main water heater pipes had severe corrosion. The business was in compliance at a follow-up inspection the next day.
The Bunnery, 1025 W. 29th St. North in Wichita — Four violations on April 16 during a joint inspection. Violations include dozens of “blackish” and gray or white rodent droppings found in various locations, no mouse traps on site, “brownish splatter stains” on wall behind sheet pans, food buildup and cobwebs on storage racks, one- to two-inch gap under the receiving door is allowing pest entry, business was using a frayed wire brush that isn’t approved for use in a food facility, brush has bristles that could break off and contaminate food, cheese wasn’t cold enough in a reach-in cooler. Next inspection: April 26.
Chucherias Y Mas (mobile vendor/food truck), 118 N. Mount Carmel in Wichita — Four violations on April 13 during a routine inspection. Violations include tortilla chips stored in a plastic T-shirt bag instead of a food-grade container, probe-style food thermometer doesn’t work, ceviche and salsa weren’t cold enough in refrigeration, no paper towels at the hand-washing sink. Next inspection: April 23.
El Capitan Seafood & Grill, 410 N. Hillside in Wichita — Fifteen violations on April 18 during a routine inspection. Violations include shrimp broth that wasn’t kept cold enough, chipped and cracked spatula, dirty thermometer, hand-washing sink couldn’t be used because it was full of dishes, cactus was stored in a bag instead of a food-grade container, cook didn’t change gloves or wash hands between touching raw shrimp and raw eggs and ready-to-eat food and clean plates, hot water faucets don’t work, employee rinsed hands at the wrong sink before putting on gloves, pans of raw shrimp and raw fish were stored above ready-to-eat foods like pineapple and crab meat, employee dried their hands on their apron after washing, “brown slimy residue” on soda fountain nozzles, fly strips hanging over food preparation areas and where clean dishes are stored, no hot water at hand-washing sink, sticker and food residue was soiling clean pans, clean ladles were soiled with dirty dish water, bottle of cleaner was hanging over clean plates. Next inspection: April 28.
Freezing Moo, 2684 N. Greenwich Court, Suite 200 in Wichita — Two violations on April 18 during a routine inspection. Violations include no test strips to test the concentration of sanitizer, food probe thermometer wasn’t working. Next inspection: April 28.
Home2 Suites By Hilton Wichita Downtown Delano, 200 N. Sycamore in Wichita — Four violations on April 16 during a routine inspection. Violations include bowls of apples on the front counter that weren’t covered to protect them from contamination, can of whipped topping wasn’t labeled with its package opening date, outdated chicken sausage, no food probe thermometer on site. Next inspection: April 26.
Jersey Mike’s Subs, 2564 N. Greenwich, Suite 550 in Wichita — Three violations on April 15 during a routine inspection. Violations include an employee who touched food after handling sanitizer, chicken salad wasn’t kept cold enough, water temperature at sink wasn’t hot enough. Next inspection: April 25.
Maize South High School, 3701 N. Tyler Road in Maize — Three violations on April 16 during a routine inspection. Violations include fresh and old rodent droppings in chemical storage rooms, half- to one-inch gap at the bottom of an exterior door and in ceiling tiles could be allowing pests to get in the building. Next inspection: April 26.
Mark 8 Inn, 1130 N. Broadway in Wichita — Seven violations on April 15 during an inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. Violations include long-term rented rooms that aren’t being serviced every five days, exit signs and emergency lights don’t work, dirty hallway floors, mold in bathtub caulking, foul odor in building, burn holes in duvet cover, evacuation route was missing from a room. Next inspection: June 15.
Newman University, 3100 W. McCormick in Wichita — Twelve violations on April 14 during a routine inspection. Violations include no written plan for cleaning up vomiting and diarrhea incidents, chef was seen “pulling up his pants” then putting on gloves to touch food without washing his hands, bleach and other chemicals weren’t labeled, melted butter and chicken weren’t kept hot enough, missing procedures related to handling premade pizzas, dirty slicer, open drink cups and yogurt sitting by gloves near a tray of frozen sausage, yogurt wasn’t kept cold enough, shredded cheese and potato salad weren’t kept cold enough, no test strips on site for measuring the concentration of sanitizer, no hand-washing sink in front area of coffee shop, table of baked goods weren’t protected from contamination, dairy foods and lettuce were labeled with the wrong dates. Next inspection: April 24.
Panera Bread, 1605 N. Rock Road in Wichita — Five violations on April 16 during a routine inspection. Violations include no hand-washing sink in food preparation and dishwashing areas, food was thawing and cooling in a sink with a direct connection to the sewage system, employee working at cash register didn’t wash her hands before touching bread, dirty ladles, unlabeled chemical containers. Next inspection: May 16.
Panera Bread, 3337 E. Central in Wichita — Two violations on April 14 during a complaint inspection. Violations include living and dead cockroaches at coffee station behind counter and in dishwashing area, no paper towels at hand-washing sink. Next inspection: April 24.
Pizza Hut, 1032 S. Oliver in Wichita — One violation on April 15 during a routine inspection. There was no food probe thermometer in the restaurant. Next inspection: April 25.
Reverie Coffee Roasters, 2202 E. Douglas in Wichita — Five violations on April 17 during a routine inspection. Violations include butter wasn’t kept cold enough, outdated spinach artichoke dip and lumpia filling, dirty meat slicer, contamination risk related to a sprayer nozzle at a dishwashing sink, no sanitizer in dishwashing machine. Next inspection: April 27.
Savor at Century II, 225 W. Douglas in Wichita — Five violations on April 17 during a routine inspection. Violations include the business not following an approved plan for vacuum sealing food, outdated deli meats, pork wasn’t labeled with the correct date it was removed from the freezer, dirty meat slicer and vegetable dicer, business was missing paperwork related to cooling meat that is vacuum sealed. Next inspection: May 17.
Side Pockets, 614 S. Tyler Road in Wichita — Nine violations on April 15 during a routine inspection. Violations include no hot water at restroom sink, compound butter wasn’t kept cold enough, dead insect in whiskey bottle, cream wasn’t labeled with the date the package was opened, outdated green beans, no paper towels at hand-washing sinks at the bar, unlabeled chemical containers, business didn’t have the correct sanitizer testing kit, dirty pizza pans, improperly cooled taco meat. Next inspection: April 25.
Where to complain about food, hotel safety
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.
