Rodent poop on plates, roaches in food, filthy kitchens at Wichita KS restaurants
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Six Wichita-area businesses failed Kansas food safety and lodging inspections from Aug. 31-Sept. 6.
- One restaurant shut down temporarily due to severe pest and cleanliness violations.
- Most violations involved improper food temperatures, pest issues and poor sanitation.
Cockroaches crawling in food and in food preparation equipment, rodent poop on plates, filthy kitchens, expired meat, moldy fruit, food that wasn’t kept cold or hot enough and more are among violations state 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. Six restaurants, hotels or other businesses were non-compliant with state regulations from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6.
Inspectors found few or no violations at more than 40 other locations deemed compliant with food safety and lodging rules.
Kansas Department of Agriculture inspections are meant to protect the public from foodborne illnesses and other health risks. Locations can fail if they have too many problems, certain types of violations or issues that can’t be fixed right away.
Violations are common. Most of the time, businesses 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 may take longer to correct include pest infestations, power outages and plumbing problems.
It’s rare, but a business may be temporarily shut down over violations.
Places that fail are usually reinspected within 10 days.
The list in this report was compiled on Sept. 11 using information available from the state on that date. It covers Sedgwick County only.
But you can search food safety and lodging inspection results elsewhere in Kansas at https://foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx.
Out-of-compliance inspections
Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store, 1261 S. Rock Road in Wichita — Three violations on Sept. 4 during a follow-up inspection. Mold on strawberries and oranges, foods including sliced tomatoes and cheese held beyond marked discard time, six to eight live roaches found in building including in front of cash registers. Next inspection: Nov. 4.
Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store, 444 E. Pawnee in Wichita — One violation on Sept. 3 during a follow-up inspection. Restaurant wasn’t accurately recording times that items were removed from refrigeration, lettuce and cheese weren’t cold enough. Next inspection: Nov. 3.
Chiang Mai Thai Restaurant, 3141 S. Hillside in Wichita — Six violations on Sept. 3 during a follow-up inspection and five violations on Sept. 5 during a follow-up inspection. On Sept. 3, an inspector found: Residential RAID Ant and Roach spray in drink area, multiple rodent droppings on plates stored as clean, cockroach crawling on a food preparation table, cockroach crawling on clean utensils, multiple dead and live cockroaches throughout kitchen including one egg sac on storage shelf, approximately 200 rodent droppings throughout establishment, no pest control sticky traps found in building, storage racks soiled with grease and excessive number of dirty items, food debris and unused equipment, old equipment and dirty milk crates. On Sept. 5, an inspector found: Cockroaches crawling on meat grinding machine, 10-15 live cockroaches of various life cycles found in kitchen, wooden table with meat grinder infested with cockroaches, cockroaches inside of food processor, cockroach found inside bagged tea, overall poor kitchen cleanliness with surfaces crusted with grease and food debris, clutter and excess debris is attracting pests, several dead cockroaches throughout kitchen. The restaurant shut down temporarily over the violations and was still out of compliance, with two violations related to cockroaches, during its reopening inspection on Sept. 8. Next inspection: Nov. 5.
Church’s Texas Chicken, 3824 E. Harry in Wichita — One violation on Sept. 2 during a follow-up inspection. Several pans of macaroni and cheese and raw chicken weren’t cold enough in the walk-in cooler, cooler wasn’t cold enough, ice buildup on cooler fans. Next inspection: Nov. 12.
Panera Bread, 2688 N. Greenwich Court, Suite 100 in Wichita — One violation on Sept. 4 during a modified complaint inspection. Three live cockroaches found in bread proof. Next inspection: Sept. 14.
Riverside Cafe #5, 739 W. 13th St. in Wichita — Nine violations on Sept. 3 during a complaint inspection. Heavy accumulation of grease and food debris on kitchen equipment and door handles, chicken noodle soup held at improper temperature (127-135°F, should be 135°F or above for hot holding), heavy accumulation of grease and food debris on floors and walls in kitchen and back room, vegetable beef soup wasn’t labeled with its preparation date, country gravy sitting out at room temperature (98°F, should be 135°F or above for hot holding), raw steak and raw burger stored with produce and cheese, raw sausage and bacon at 88°F (should be 41°F or below), room temperature coffee creamer, expired ham steaks and salsa, employee handling ready-to-eat food after touching raw meat without changing gloves or washing hands. Next inspection: Sept. 13.
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.
