Restaurant inspections: Mildew, trash, roaches, fly on sauerkraut in Wichita KS area

Six Wichita-area restaurants and other businesses were deemed out of compliance during Kansas Department of Agriculture food and lodging safety inspections conducted Sept. 25 to Oct. 1.

Among problems inspectors found: a fly crawling on sauerkraut, roaches in and around food preparation areas, employees who skipped hand-washing, mildew in an ice bin, a leaky sink and trash scattered along baseboards.

Information about the Sedgwick County businesses and their violations, compiled Oct. 7, appears below with a summary of the problems inspectors noted on their reports. More details are posted in The Eagle’s searchable database of non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspections at www.kansas.com/databases.

Business owners who want to clarify or comment on out-of-compliance inspection results can contact Eagle reporter Amy Renee Leiker at 316-268-6644 or aleiker@wichitaeagle.com. Comments will be added to online stories. Businesses are listed alphabetically at the end of this article.

More than 50 businesses surveyed Sept. 25 through Oct. 1 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 during an inspection.

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 and also when a problem can’t be fixed right away, such as pest and plumbing issues.

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.

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Recent out-of-compliance inspections

Corner Market, 230 S. Baltimore in Derby — Seven violations during a Sept. 26 follow-up inspection. Cited over a fly crawling on self-serve sauerkraut, gravy wasn’t cold enough in refrigerator, hot dogs and cheddar dogs weren’t correctly labeled with discard date, missing label information on packaged biscuits, black and pink mildew spots in ice bin, heavy corrosion around vent on soda carbonator valves. Next inspection: Nov. 26.

Farmer’s Market, 2901 N. Broadway in Wichita — Ten violations during a Sept. 28 routine inspection. Cited over several large pieces of equipment in storage area that weren’t being used, food debris and trash along baseboards and under and between pallets of food, bottles of hand sanitizer and lotion on table where food is prepared, packaged jello candies and tortillas were missing label information, plumbing issues, a hose was stored in a hand-washing sink, leaky hand-washing sink, employees washed hands at sinks designated for other uses, no signs telling employee to wash hands at hand-washing sinks. Next inspection: Oct. 8.

Fat Ernie’s Family Dining, 2806 S. Hydraulic in Wichita — Two violations during a Sept. 28 follow-up inspection. Cited for live roaches in screened porch area, under soda machine and by drain and “appropriately 30 dead roaches” under soda machine and about 20 dead roaches in storage room. The restaurant closed on Sept. 26 for “cleaning and aggressive pest control service,” according to the inspection report. Next inspection: Nov. 28.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, 10096 E. 13th St., Ste. 118 in Wichita — Four violations during a Sept. 30 inspection prompted by a complaint. Cited for employees not washing hands after handling dirty dishes and raw meat, refrigerated foods including cheeses and tomatoes weren’t kept cold enough, trash can blocking hand-washing sink. Next inspection: Oct. 10.

Kimson Asian Market, 960 E. Pawnee in Wichita — Three violations during a Sept. 26 follow-up inspection. Cited for not having hot-enough water at sinks in kitchen, roach seen on kitchen sink designated for food preparation and roach on food waste trap under another sink. Next inspection: Nov. 26.

Pifas Restaurant Mexican Grill, 6600 W. Central Ave., Ste. 100 in Wichita — Two violations during a Sept. 26 licensing inspection. Cited for not having a probe-style food thermometer or equipment to test the strength of sanitizer. Next inspection: Oct. 6.