Restaurant inspections: Old tuna salad, unwashed hands, flies in Wichita KS area

Nine Wichita-area restaurants and other businesses were deemed out of compliance during Kansas Department of Agriculture food and lodging safety inspections conducted Sept. 18-24.

Among problems inspectors found: a roach under a milkshake machine, flies, old corn fritter mix and tuna salad, employees who didn’t wash their hands before handling food, chemicals that weren’t stored properly, refrigerated items that weren’t cold enough, dirty equipment and sinks that didn’t work.

Information about the Sedgwick County businesses and their violations, compiled Sept. 28, 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.

About 60 businesses surveyed during Sept. 18-24 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

The Angry Elephant, 111 E. 47th St. South in Wichita — Ten violations during a Sept. 20 follow-up inspection. Cited over carton of whipping cream that wasn’t labeled with opening date, crema sauce stored at room temperature, whipped topping had wrong date label on it, old corn fritter mix, menus did not have a disclosure about risks of consuming under-cooked foods, no test strips for sanitizer, dirty plastic tubs, no sanitizer in dishwasher, noodles in hand-washing sink drain, chemical cleaners stored on top of cooking equipment and above food preparation areas. Next inspection: Nov. 21.

Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store, 444 E. Pawnee in Wichita — Six violations during a Sept. 19 inspection prompted by a complaint. Cited over employees who didn’t wash their hands, wrong opening date on milk and chocolate milk, dirty pans, roach under shake machine, bottle of window cleaner stored by shake mixer and bottle of sanitizer on table where sauce was prepared. Next inspection: Sept. 29.

Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, 535 S. Ridge Road Circle in Wichita — Seven violations during a Sept. 21 routine inspection. Cited for not labeling whipped topping can with opening date, issues with reheating foods including potatoes, restaurant was cooling ribs in an open oven instead of refrigeration, fried chicken and shrimp weren’t kept hot enough, dirty meat slicer, missing records related to reduced-oxygen packaging of foods. Next inspection: Oct. 1.

Domino’s Pizza, 1615 E. 61st St. North in Wichita — One violation during a Sept. 19 licensing inspection. Cited for not having hot water at a hand-washing sink. The restaurant passed its Sept. 26 follow-up inspection.

The Independent School, 8333 E. Douglas in Wichita — One violation during a Sept. 21 routine inspection. Cited over a kitchen hand-washing sink that didn’t have hot water. When valves were adjusted, the water line started to leak. Next inspection: Nov. 1.

J&A’s Flavored Kitchen food truck, 2837 N. Broadway in Wichita — Six violations during a Sept. 21 first operational inspection after licensing. Cited for employee not washing hands after handling money, employee touching fryer knob then french fries without changing gloves, ready-to-serve foods including mac ‘n cheese and chicken wings weren’t kept hot enough, accumulation of grease on fryer and table side, to-go containers stored on floor, hand-washing sink was storing dish rack and wet rags. Next inspection: Oct. 1.

Oak & Pie, 2244 N. Greenwich, Ste. 900 in Wichita — Four violations during a Sept. 20 inspection listed as a follow-up to an administrative order. Cited over foods that were out of temperature in refrigeration including tomatoes and salad mix, roasted garlic and garlic in oil were not marked with the time they were left out of refrigeration, dirty metal containers. Next inspection: Nov. 20.

Riverside Cafe West, 9125 W. Central in Wichita — Four violations during a Sept. 19 follow-up inspection. Cited over old tuna salad, restaurant doesn’t have consumer advisory about consuming under-cooked hamburgers, no water pressure in hand-washing sink, bucket of sanitizer wasn’t labeled with contents. Next inspection: Nov. 19.

Wendy’s, 930 E. Connolly Court in Park City — Nine violations during a Sept. 23 inspection prompted by a complaint. Cited over a fly landing on a slice of cheese, cooked beef patties weren’t labeled with preparation date, food in refrigeration including beef and strawberry mix for frosty machine wasn’t cold enough, restaurant didn’t label food items including cheese and lettuce with time they were left out, sticky fly strips over several kitchen surfaces, no paper towels at men’s bathroom sink, live flies in restaurant, dead flies on counter and window ledge, unlabeled sanitizer containers. Next inspection: Oct. 3.