Wichita inspections: Roaches, mice on bread shelf, mystery sauce, old beef drippings
Fifteen businesses including several restaurants and stores failed their Kansas Department of Agriculture food and lodging safety inspections between Nov. 21 and Dec. 4. They were cited for violations such as roach and mice infestations, keeping old food around, storing raw meats over ready-to-eat items in their coolers and plumbing and water issues, a check of Sedgwick County’s non-compliant inspections shows.
Information about the businesses and violations, compiled Dec. 9, 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 searchable database of non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspections at www.kansas.com/databases.
More than 100 businesses surveyed over the past few weeks 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 inspection, 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
Barron’s Bar & Grill, 2508 S. Oliver in Wichita — Four violations for wrong date marking on taco meat bag, old lettuce, no probe-style food thermometer, no paper towels at sink. Next inspection: Dec. 9.
The Bunnery, 1025 W. 29th St. N. in Wichita — Three violations for dock bay door gap being big enough to let pests in building, dirty sheet trays, unclear whether cheddar hoagies are shelf stable which might lead to microorganism growth. Next inspection: Dec. 29.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, 619 S. Ridge Rd. in Wichita — Eleven violations for employee not washing hands, raw turkey dropped on blueberries, raw poultry stored above cooked turkey in walk-in cooler, foods stored at unsafe temperatures, pasta not marked with preparation date, old beef drippings, dirty pans, not sanitizing dishes properly, water too cold at bathroom sinks, plumbing issue, failing to record food temperatures. Next inspection: Dec. 11.
El Agave Mexican Restaurant, 3236 N. Rock Rd. in Wichita — One violation for food at unsafe temperatures. Next inspection: Jan. 31.
El Fogon, 2604 N. Arkansas in Wichita — Nine violations for moldy red sauce, raw hamburgers stored over open packages of food in cooler, taco meat at unsafe temperature, mystery orange sauce, no food thermometer in restaurant, dirty food slicer, rodent infestation. Next inspection: Dec. 11.
Great Wall Chinese Restaurant, 2130 N. Tyler Rd. Ste. 60 in Wichita — Three violations for storing raw pork belly over celery in cooler, sauce stored at unsafe temperature, storing green onions in T-shirt bag. Next inspection: Jan. 24.
Little Firehouse Cafe, 120 N. Baltimore in Derby — Four violations for foods at unsafe temperatures, old salsa, cockroaches, unlabeled chemical bottle. Next inspection: Dec. 13.
Ninza Sushi Bar, 8428 W. 13th St. N. Ste. 100 in Wichita — Two violations for storing raw beef and raw chicken over cooked crab in cooler, chemical bottle with no label. Next inspection: Jan. 29.
Regency Inn, 6125 W. Kellogg Dr. in Wichita — One violation for roaches. Next inspection date isn’t listed.
River City Brewing Co., 150 N. Mosley in Wichita — Eight violations for employees storing their personal food items in customer food preparation area, moldy sausage, food including sauces and coleslaw stored at unsafe temperatures, sausage not marked with opening date, old chipotle BBQ, dirty and damaged containers and slicer. Next inspection: Dec. 3.
Ross Dress for Less, 2740 N. Greenwich Ct. in Wichita — One violation for no hot water at bathroom sinks. Next inspection: Feb. 2.
Target, 2024 N. Rock Rd. in Derby — Four violations for not having supplies to test sanitizer strength, no soap or paper towels at sink, rodent droppings on bread shelves plus evidence of mice in bread. Next inspection: Dec. 10.
Thai Binh Supermarket, 1530 W. 21st St. N. in Wichita — Fourteen violations for employee not washing hands after touching raw poultry, moldy vegetables, foods including eggs and sandwiches stored at unsafe temperatures, vacuum packaging foods without approval, no consumer advisory posted with raw oysters for sale, storing vegetables in T-shirt sacks, sprouts stored in cooler that doesn’t shut, broken ice scoop, overflowing dumpster, water damaged and broken ceiling tiles, greasy and dirty walls and floors, not sanitizing meat saw correctly. Next inspection: Dec. 9.
Wichita Coffee Roasteries Inc., 4428 W. 29th Cir. S. in Wichita — Three violations for dirty and damaged cardboard on coffee chute, sanitation problems, plant doesn’t test bottled drinking water for coliforms. Next inspection: Dec. 23.
Yokohama Ramen Joint, 613 W. Douglas Ste. A in Wichita — No major violations listed. The Kansas Department of Agriculture is scheduling a follow-up inspection to make sure a refrigerated preparation table is repaired. Next inspection date isn’t listed.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 10:52 AM.
