Dive bar, coffee & candy shops, bookstore cafe among food safety violators Jan. 10-16
Editor’s note: The Eagle is updating its out-of-compliance inspection database weekly this year. However, because the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed inspections, there may be no related story some weeks. You can search the database at www.kansas.com/databases.
A dive bar, chain coffee restaurant, bookstore cafe, three hotels, and a candy and treat shop in Sedgwick County failed their latest Kansas Department of Agriculture food and lodging safety inspections. Violations that led to the businesses falling out of compliance with state expectations included missing equipment for testing the concentration of sanitizing solutions, food stored at unsafe temperatures and plumbing issues that caused hot water at sinks to be too cool, according to a check of inspection reports.
All of the Wichita-area businesses that failed their inspections Jan. 10-16 were surveyed remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are also two hotels found to be non-compliant the prior week but were not posted on the KDA’s website immediately. Those are included in The Eagle’s list of businesses below along with a summary of the problems inspectors noted on their reports. The list was compiled Jan. 20. You can read specifics about the violations by searching The Eagle’s non-compliant database at www.kansas.com/databases.
Inspection failures don’t necessarily mean business closures. Most violations are corrected on site as an inspection happens, and follow-up visits usually occur within 10 days to ensure safe food-handling practices are observed. Businesses fall out of compliance when they have a certain number or type of problem that can lead to foodborne illnesses or ones that can’t be corrected right away, such as plumbing issues and pest infestations.
At least 70 businesses surveyed last week passed their inspections with few or no violations. You can see those at www.foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx. To complain about conditions at a business, email kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.
Out of compliance inspections:
Aloft Wichita Northeast, 3642 N. Oliver Ave. in Wichita — Four violations for not labeling meats and cheeses with their opening dates, having old food including pre-cooked sausage links and mixed shredded cheese, not having proper equipment to measure concentration of sanitizer at bar sink, water not hot enough at bar and main kitchen sinks
Home2 Suites By Hilton Wichita Downtown Delano, 200 N. Sycamore in Wichita — Three violations for not having supplies to test the concentration of sanitizer and for water not reaching hot-enough temperatures at two sinks
Lucky’s Everyday, 1217 E. Douglas in Wichita — One violation for not having sanitizer testing equipment and one type of sanitizer
Starbucks Coffee, 3000 N. Rock Rd. in Wichita — One violation for having food at unsafe temperatures. The store had to throw away egg bites, sandwiches and all other products in a reach-in cooler because of it
Sweet ‘N Saucy, 535 W. Douglas in Wichita — One violation for not having labeling information or signage “in plain view of the consumer” on self-service bulk candy
Watermark Books and Cafe, 4701 E. Douglas in Wichita — One violation for not being able to accurately measure the concentration of their sanitizer solution because “their test strips fell into the water”
Wyndham Gardens Wichita Downtown, 221 E. Kellogg in Wichita — Six violations for not providing prepackaged foam cups or a cup dispenser in rooms, no hand drying supplies in employee break area, no carbon monoxide detector on site, no emergency management plan, fire extinguishers haven’t been inspected in over a year, no smoke detector in guest laundry room or in the boiler room
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 1:23 PM.
