Wichita restaurant inspections: Cockroaches, old burritos, dirty dicer, missing labels
Two barbecue joints, a steakhouse, a burger house, a bakery and three other restaurants failed their Kansas Department of Agriculture food safety and lodging inspections last week. Their violations include a cockroach infestation, bugs in liquor bottles and swarming a basket of dirty washcloths, old rib burritos and ranch sauce, dirty equipment, employees who didn’t wash their hands and desserts that weren’t labeled with ingredient or allergen information, a check of Sedgwick County’s non-compliant inspections from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2 shows.
Information about the eight non-compliant businesses, compiled Oct. 7, appears below with a summary of the problems inspectors noted on their reports. More details, including specific violation descriptions and survey dates, are posted in The Eagle’s online searchable, non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspection database at www.kansas.com/databases.
More than 50 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.
Failing an inspection doesn’t necessarily mean a business has to close; that’s rare. Most violations are minor and are immediately corrected on site.
Businesses fall out of compliance with state rules when they have too many violations or certain types of problems that can increase the risk of a customer contracting a food-borne illness, or when a problem can’t be fixed right away, such as plumbing issues and pest infestations.
When a business fails, it’s usually inspected again within 10 days.
To complain about conditions anywhere that serves or sells food to the public, email kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.
Recent out-of-compliance inspections
Bite Me BBQ, 132 N. Saint Francis St. in Wichita — Eight violations for meat including ham and brisket not kept at compliant temperatures, bags of cooked meat were not marked with preparation dates, milk and other dairy foods not marked with opening dates, old rib meat burritos, no equipment for testing strength of sanitizer, dirty vegetable dicer and ice scoops, no sanitizer in dishwasher. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 7.
Breakfast with La Pasadita, 418 W. Grand Ave. in Haysville — Twelve violations for thawing fish improperly, raw meat stored above produce and cooked meat in cooler, employee didn’t wash hands after cracking raw eggs, food stored at unsafe temperatures, taco meat and shrimp not marked with preparation dates, queso and dairy products not marked with opening date, desserts not labeled with common names or ingredient or allergen information, broken food thermometer. No follow-up inspection date listed in report.
El Rancho, 2801 N. Broadway in Wichita — Six violations for not washing hands, raw eggs stored above tamales in cooler, beef stomach kept at unsafe temperature for too long, blocked sink, spray bottle of sanitizer hanging by cilantro and onion, expired license posted. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Nov. 30.
Jay Q’s BBQ (mobile unit), 6709 N. Ulysses St. in Wichita — One violation for not having hot enough water in unit. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 7.
Kookaburra Coffee, 9414 W. Central Ave. in Wichita — Six violations for not marking cream and tomatoes with opening or preparation dates, turkey and milk weren’t marked with opening or preparation dates, old red ranch sauce, no ambient air thermometers in coolers, no equipment to test strength of sanitizer in dishwasher, unlabeled chemical bottle. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 7.
Logan’s Roadhouse, 2424 N. Maize Rd. in Wichita — Five violations for thawing fish improperly, bugs in liquor bottles, food stored at unsafe temperatures, butter not marked with correct discard time, water not hot enough at hand-washing sink. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 9.
N&J Cafe & Bakery, 5600 E. Lincoln in Wichita — Inspected as both a food establishment and a food processor. At least 11 violations including storing raw chicken above other items in the cooler, food not kept at compliant temperatures, food thermometers were inaccurate, plumbing issue, “several small winged insects” around basket of dirty cloths, buckets collecting grease drippings and condensation could attract pests, no employee training logs or thermometer calibration logs available. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 8.
TJ’s Burger House, 1003 W. Douglas in Wichita — One violation for cockroaches. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 8.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 4:19 AM.
