Rotting food, no sanitizer, moldy walls, dirty kitchen at Wichita KS restaurants
Rotting fruit, moldy walls, a dirty kitchen, employees who didn’t wash their hands, businesses that weren’t using sanitizer to wash dishes and equipment, missing plans, food not stored at required temperatures 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. Eight restaurants and other businesses were non-compliant with state regulations March 22-28.
Inspectors found few or no violations that week at 70 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, they’re corrected in front of an inspector. Examples of things that can be addressed immediately include 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 April 3 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
Ambassador Hotel Wichita, 104 S. Broadway in Wichita — Five violations on March 26 during a licensing-operational inspection. Water at men’s restroom sinks was not hot enough, no sign posted alerting guests that the hotel is “pet-friendly,” one room had mold in the shower area ceiling, single-use coffee cups and lids were uncovered in guest rooms, spray bottles of chemicals were mislabeled or not labeled. The business was in compliance at a follow-up inspection on March 31.
Amigos Market, 840 S. Oliver in Wichita — Eleven violations on March 25 during a licensing-operational inspection. Moldy strawberries for sale, packaged peanuts and chicharron for sale had no labels, no test strips for chlorine sanitizer, business was repackaging food without a washing and sanitizing system in place, no mop sink, raw chorizo was stored above ready-to-eat produce, mop water dumped in unapproved sewage drain, no paper towels at restroom sink. Next inspection: April 3.
Dillons, 2244 N. Rock Road in Wichita — Five violations on March 26 during a complaint inspection. Flavored butters were stored at room temperature in bakery, dirty food probe thermometer, dented cans and open products on sales shelves, food debris on shelves, moldy and rotting produce. Next inspection: April 6.
New China Super Buffet, 4858 S. Broadway in Wichita — Eight violations on March 23 during a complaint inspection. Soap bottle was next to a cup of sugar, raw pork thawing at room temperature, cooked chicken was not labeled with its preparation date, a container of mushrooms was held together with wire, employee washed hands at wrong sink, no written plan for vomiting or diarrhea incidents, rice was not labeled with the time it was left out, foods on buffet including eggs and squid salad were not kept cold enough. Next inspection: May 23.
New Good Fortune Chinese Restaurant, 709 N. Baltimore in Derby — Seven violations on March 24 during a routine inspection. Radishes were stored in a non-food-grade bag, dishwashing machine had no chlorine sanitizer in it, cream cheese mix was not labeled with its preparation date, raw beef was stored above celery and snow peas, floors and walls were dirty and moldy, egg rolls were not kept cold enough, peeling wallpaper. Next inspection: April 3.
Rany Khiev Donuts, 7343 W. Central in Wichita — Two violations on March 24 during a complaint inspection. Doughnut trays weren’t being sanitized, plastic containers that store frosting and other doughnut toppings were not food grade. Next inspection: April 3.
Super East Buffet, 7607 E. Douglas in Wichita — Two violations on March 24 during a follow-up inspection. Squid salad and other foods at salad and dessert bars were not kept cold enough, employee polished clean silverware after handling dirty dishes without washing hands. Next inspection: May 24.
Wings & Burgers Grill Etc., 1714 E. Northern in Wichita — Five violations on March 23 during a complaint inspection. No written plan for cleaning up vomiting or diarrhea incidents, no sanitizer test strips on site, poor general cleanliness in kitchen, raw eggs stored above cheese, large metal object on hand-washing sink. Next inspection: April 2.
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.
