Here is a story from the St Paul Pioneer Press Roach-infested St Paul Restaurant in Danger of Closing for Good:
A roach-infested University Avenue restaurant that likely sickened at least two patrons has been given another week while city officials consider closing it for good.
Veteran inspectors said the repeat public health violations at Kim Huoy Chor Asian Cuisine, at 1664 University Ave. in St. Paul, since the owner took over in 2007 amounted to the worst sustained conditions they've ever documented.
But following a tearful apology from the owner, a plea from a former city council member and a lone holdout on a short-staffed city council, no action was taken Wednesday evening, leaving open the possibility that some accord could be reached.
After dozens of inspections, city health inspectors recommended the harshest — and rarest — of sanctions for Kim Huoy Chor: Shut the place down.
"It's horrendous," said Bill Gunther, environmental-health manager for the city. In his 39 years with the city, Gunther said, he could recall only one other restaurant — a fast-food joint more than two decades ago — being recommended for closure.
City council members said they were grossed out by photographs taken during numerous inspections that showed rat droppings, dirty dishes piled waist-high on the floor — and on top of food ready to be served — and numerous cockroaches, live and dead.
One caption to a photo of a soggy box reads: "Cream cheese wontons in cardboard box that previously held raw chicken wings." Numerous such food storage and handling "critical violations" were documented. While roaches and rat poop make for better headlines, Gunther and other health officials note that improper food handling and storage is at least as dangerous because it can cause food-borne illnesses.
But there were critters, too. Assistant City Attorney Rachel Tierney said a "cockroach infestation" was confirmed by repeat sightings of roaches of all ages on numerous occasions. "Live roach in cup," read one photo caption. Inspectors observed cooks picking and wiping their noses and continuing to prepare food and clean surfaces, reports state. The city received two reports of patrons being sickened after eating there.
I know that reporters don't write their own headlines, and pardon for saying so, but I don't think the danger is that it might be closed, I think the danger is not that its closed, but rather that it stays open.
The point of an assessment is to evaluate against objective criteria - not to pass everyone. If no one ever fails, why have the test at all? Also, what message does it send to the other places if no one is ever closed down. Among the many smart things that PCI DSS creator did, when they launched the standard was to show they were serious with Cardsystems. It got everyone's attention. I also like the rule in California where the assessment scores are posted in the restaurant.
They should do what the great City of New York does: assess, shame, and close.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/rii/index.shtml
If a restaurant receives a failing grade, it is closed that day. They can re-open after a successful inspection. Regardless, all of the data is available on their website (when it's up :-). We used this as a decision point last night to avoid Caffe Buon Gusto and its cockroaches.
Posted by: Jon | October 13, 2010 at 06:35 AM