Old ham, spoiled lettuce, cockroaches, mice at Wichita KS restaurants, schools
Old ham, spoiled lettuce, mice, cockroaches, employees who didn’t wash their hands, food that wasn’t stored at safe 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. Eleven restaurants and other businesses were non-compliant with state regulations April 12-18.
Inspectors found few or no violations that week at 50 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 22 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
Bel Air Motel, 1822 S. Broadway in Wichita — Six violations on April 14 during a licensing-operational inspection. No gloves in laundry room for employees to wear while handling dirty laundry, carbon monoxide detector in laundry room was missing batteries, no CO detector in utility closet, no evacuation diagrams posted in some guest rooms, no emergency management plan available, fire extinguishers were missing from second-floor walkway and in laundry room, no smoke detector in one guest room. The next inspection date wasn’t listed.
Geo Meals at Genesis Health Clubs, 1551 N. Rock Road in Wichita — Four violations on April 16 during a follow-up inspection. Cooked chicken and cooked rice were not kept cold enough, cooked vegetables and hash browns were not kept cold enough, old ham, dirty food thermometer, the business was not monitoring the temperature of food. Next inspection: April 26.
Matteo’s Mexican Grill (mobile vendor/food truck), 631 S. St. Paul in Wichita — One violation on April 17 during its first operational inspection after licensing. No hot water at hand-washing sink. Next inspection: May 1.
Pho KC, 4875 E. Pawnee in Wichita — Eight violations on April 16 during a routine inspection. Employee touched clean utensil without washing hands after going outside, no written plan to clean up vomit or diarrhea, spoiled lettuce, raw beef stored by ready-to-eat garlic in oil, several foods including meats and vegetables were not kept cold enough, cooked tofu and raw eggs were not kept cold enough, cracked cutting board, food probe thermometer was not readily accessible. Next inspection: April 26.
Rhatigan Student Center/Panda Express/Starbucks/Freddy’s/Chick-fil-A/Shocker Lane/Chartwells at Wichita State University, 1845 N. Fairmount in Wichita — One violation on April 13 during a routine inspection. One live mouse on sticky trap near catering dish machine, one dead mouse on sticky trap in catering dry storage area, buildup of rodent droppings under hand-washing sink in Freddy’s area and in other areas throughout building. Next inspection: April 23.
Robinson Middle School, 328 N. Oliver in Wichita — One violation on April 16 during a routine inspection. Dead and living cockroaches in kitchen and around other areas. Next inspection: April 26.
Sazon Mexican Food, 2624 E. 21st St. in Wichita — Five violations on April 13 during a joint inspection. No written plan for cleaning up vomit or diarrhea, salsa and several cooked meats were not labeled with their preparation dates, restaurant was fermenting Tepache (pineapple, sugar cane and cinnamon) without an approved plan, no backflow prevention device on mop sink faucet, unlabeled chemical bottle. Next inspection: May 13.
Sushi-Do at Wichita State University Rhatigan Student Center, 1845 N. Fairmont in Wichita — Two violations on April 13 during its first operational inspection after licensing. Fried chicken dumplings were not kept hot enough, sushi rolls were not kept cold enough. Next inspection: April 23.
Tacos TJ 664 East, 3526 N. Rock Road, Suite 100 in Wichita — One violation on April 17 during a modified complaint inspection. Cooked beans and steak were not kept cold enough. Next inspection: April 27.
Walgreens, 1330 N. Woodlawn in Wichita — One violation on April 16 during a routine inspection. No hot water at hand-washing sinks in men’s and women’s restrooms. The next inspection date was not listed.
Wings & Burgers Grill Etc., 1714 E. Northern in Wichita — Four violations on April 15 during a modified complaint inspection. Bag of soap was stored in hand-washing sink, water bottle and wet rag were blocking sink drain, back door was propped open, one live mouse on sticky trap near hand-washing sink, rodent bait blocks in kitchen weren’t in covered and tamper-resistant bait stations. Next inspection: June 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.
