Restaurant inspections: Roaches, stagnant water, foul smell, no sneeze guard in Wichita KS

Jan. 17—Eight Wichita-area restaurants and other businesses were deemed out of compliance during Kansas Department of Agriculture food safety and lodging inspections conducted Jan. 1-7.

Information about the Sedgwick County businesses and their violations, compiled Jan. 13, 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 that failed are listed alphabetically at the end of this article.

More than 50 businesses surveyed Jan. 1-7 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 corrected immediately 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 or when a problem can't be fixed right away, such as pest infestations 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.

Recent out-of-compliance inspections

BD's Mongolian Grill, 111 S. Rock Road in Wichita — Nine violations during a Jan. 3 routine inspection. Cited over a cook who didn't wash hands after cracking raw eggs, sealed vacuum-packed salmon thawing in sink, raw pork egg rolls stored over cooked rice and over beer kegs, ranch sauce and butter stored at room temperature, cheesecake wasn't labeled with date it was removed from freezer, old ranch and spicy garlic, no equipment to test strength of sanitizer used in sink, dirty pans, no soap at hand-washing sink. Next inspection: Jan. 14.

Emperor's Japanese Grill, 320 N. Rock Road, Ste. 300 in Derby — Three violations during a Jan. 5 routine inspection. Cited over raw chicken and garlic-in-oil sauce that weren't kept cold enough, no sanitizer in dishwasher, plumbing issue. Next inspection: Jan. 15.

Hiro Sushi & Hibachi, 240 N. Main, Ste. 300 in Haysville — Five violations during a Jan. 5 follow-up inspection. Cited for storing grill utensils in stagnant water, not keeping records for parasite destruction for salmon and escolar served raw in sushi, cooked chicken wasn't kept cold enough, menu says sushi item is white tuna when it's actually escolar, no soap at hand-washing sink. The restaurant was in compliance during a Jan. 12 follow-up inspection.

Little Firehouse Cafe, 120 N. Baltimore Ave. in Derby — One violation during a Jan. 5 inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. Cited over cockroaches. The inspector found roaches on the floor by a cooler and roach eggs by the back door. Next inspection: March 5.

Mariscos Cheli, 1851 N. Broadway, Ste. D in Wichita — Three violations during a Jan. 6 routine inspection, all related to not keeping the shellstock tags for oysters served in the restaurant. The tags are supposed to be kept for at least 90 days. Next inspection: Feb. 6.

Rene's Restaurant, 677 Eisenhower in Wichita — Twenty-one violations during a Jan. 4 inspection prompted by a complaint. Cited for storing raw sausage above open container of pico de gallo in cooler, raw eggs were stored on wire rack above hot line instead of in cooler, horchata sitting in ice bin, handle for ice scoop was sitting in ice, tortilla boxes and onions stacked on the ground where they can be contaminated, open containers of seasonings that weren't protected from contamination, cooked rice wasn't kept hot enough, raw eggs were too warm, containers of pico de gallo weren't labeled with preparation dates, no disclaimer or reminder on menu about eggs being cooked to order, rice stored in plastic T-shirt bag instead of food grade container, dirty knives, trash and food debris on floor especially around kitchen baseboards and in basement, box soda blocked hand-washing sink, no soap at hand-washing sink or in women's bathroom, no paper towels at basement hand-washing sink or in men's bathroom, no trash can by kitchen and basement hand-washing sinks, restaurant was storing equipment that it doesn't use in back corner of basement, "build up of food debris and trash through kitchen and basement along baseboards" and also grease on retired equipment and along the wall, "foul smell" coming from area where retired equipment was stored, jar of petroleum jelly stored above containers of chips. Next inspection: Jan. 14.

Valero, 851 S. Meridian in Wichita — One violation during a Jan. 6 routine inspection. Cited for not having a kit on site to measure the strength of sanitizer for washing dishes. Next inspection: Jan. 16.

Wichita Marriott Hotel, 9100 E. Corporate Hills Dr. in Wichita — Seven violations during a Jan. 6 routine inspection. Cited over moldy peppers and fish-thawing practices, raw eggs were stored above bowl of sliced peppers in cooler, no sneeze guard protecting items from contamination on breakfast buffet, butter left out at room temperature, whipping cream wasn't labeled with package opening date, old gravy and beans, old prosciutto and cream cheese mix, dishwasher was out of sanitizer. Next inspection: Jan. 16.

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