Roach, old hot dogs, pooled water, dirty equipment at Wichita KS restaurants
Old food, a roach in a restaurant kitchen, missing fire extinguishers, dirty equipment, water pooled on the floor, chemical bottles with no labels 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. Ten restaurants and other businesses were non-compliant with state regulations April 26 to May 2.
Inspectors found few or no violations that week at more than 60 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.
Locations that fail are usually reinspected within 10 days.
The list in this report was compiled on May 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
Bel Air Motel, 1822 S. Broadway in Wichita — Four violations on April 29 during a follow-up inspection. No evacuation diagram in guest room, no emergency management plan available, missing fire extinguishers, the laundry room had no fire extinguisher, fire extinguisher was overdue for inspection. Next inspection: June 29.
Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store, 2201 N. Rock Road in Derby — Three violations on April 28 during a routine inspection. Diced tomatoes were refrigerated instead of being thrown away, no chlorine sanitizer test strips available, dirty pump nozzle on clean dish rack. Next inspection: May 8.
Chili’s Grill & Bar, 7887 E. Central in Wichita — Five violations on April 27 during a routine inspection. No written plan for cleaning up vomit or diarrhea, cooked onions and peppers weren’t kept cold enough, no paper towels at hand-washing sinks, live roach by the food prep table in kitchen, unlabeled chemical bottle. The restaurant was in compliance during a follow-up inspection on May 7.
Home2 Suites by Hilton Wichita Northeast, 2012 N. Crossmark Place in Wichita — Six violations on April 30 during a joint inspection. Cleaning chemicals were stored by cups and coffee items, unlabeled chemical bottles, hotel doesn’t keep daily logs monitoring pool water quality and several weekly tests showed zero chlorine, carbon monoxide detector in pool storage room wasn’t working, smoke detector in hearing impaired room doesn’t flash when alarm is tested, no pet advisory was posted even though hotel allows pets. Next inspection: May 10.
Hot Stone Korean Grill, 3743 N. Rock Road in Wichita — Four violations on April 28 during a routine inspection. Miso soup wasn’t kept hot enough, bean sprouts and kimchi were too warm, soda fountain machine valve was corroded and leaking, unlabeled chemical bottle. The restaurant was in compliance during a follow-up inspection on May 8.
Jumbo’s Beef & Brew, 3750 N. Woodlawn, Suite 102 in Wichita — Six violations on April 28 during a routine inspection. Employee didn’t wash hands after touching raw meat, employee didn’t wash hands and change gloves after handling dirty dishes, sliced cheese and coleslaw weren’t kept cold enough, half-and-half wasn’t labeled with its package opening date, old hot dogs and sauce, no sanitizer in dishwashing machine. Next inspection: May 8.
Las Rosa’s Wichita Mexican Grill, 1050 W. 47th St. South in Wichita — Eight violations on April 30 during a routine inspection. Employee didn’t use soap to wash hands, no written plan for cleaning up vomit or diarrhea, employee touched tortillas with bare hands, raw chicken wasn’t kept cold enough, cooked corn and cooked shrimp weren’t labeled with their preparation dates, milk and tamales weren’t labeled with their package opening dates, old menudo and barbacoa, old marinade, pitcher of blue liquid wasn’t labeled. Next inspection: May 10.
Los Compadres Mexican Grill, 3213 N. Toben in Wichita — Eight violations on May 1 during an inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. Employee didn’t wash hands after touching dirty dishes, employee handled a ready-to-eat tortilla with bare hands, food including refried beans and chicken weren’t kept hot enough, green salsa was too warm, no hot or cold water under pressure at the hand-washing sink, the kitchen hand-washing sink had no drainpipe or disposal system, pools of water on floor by equipment, no soap at hand-washing sink, live roach on sugar container. Next inspection: July 1.
Ovations Food Services of Kansas LLC - Main Kitchen at Equity Bank Park, 275 S. McLean Blvd. in Wichita — Four violations on April 29 during a routine inspection. Burgers and grilled onions weren’t kept hot enough, old black olives and salsa, restaurant wasn’t vacuum-packaging foods correctly, restaurant is vacuum-packaging meats and soups without an approved plan in place. Next inspection: May 29.
Super East Buffet, 7607 E. Douglas in Wichita — Two violations on April 29 during a modified complaint inspection. Scoop handle was in direct contact with ice, several items on the salad bar including seafood salad and deviled eggs were too warm. The next inspection date was not listed.
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.
