Six restaurants, a popcorn shop, a hotel and a pharmacy store in Wichita were out of compliance during food safety and lodging inspections conducted by the Kansas Department of Agriculture last week. Their problems include cockroaches, a ceiling leak dripping on food boxes, plumbing problems, foods that were too old to serve to customers, thermometers that didn’t work and cleaners and insecticides stored in the wrong places, according to inspection reports.
Information about the nine businesses and a summary of their violations appears below. The list was compiled Jan. 18 and includes inspections conducted in Sedgwick County from Jan. 7-13.
More than 30 establishments passed inspections during that time. They also appear below. Some may have been non-compliant previously.
Owners or managers can contact Eagle reporter Amy Renee Leiker at 316-268-6644 or aleiker@wichitaeagle.com to comment on inspection results that appear in this story.
More details about the inspection results are in The Eagle’s searchable database of non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspections at www.kansas.com/databases.
How establishments fail
Most violations are minor and are corrected during an inspection.
Businesses fall out of compliance when they have too many violations, issues that can cause foodborne illnesses or when a problem can’t be fixed right away, like bug and rodent infestations. Typically, establishments are re-inspected within 10 days.
It’s rare for a facility to shut down over a failed inspection. But it can happen due to things like sewage backups, pest problems, and water or power outages. Usually, closures are temporary.
You can search food and lodging inspection results in any Kansas county at www.foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx.
Out-of-compliance inspections
Bobalicious at Towne East Square, 7700 E. Kellogg Drive in Wichita — Three violations on Jan. 10 during a routine inspection. Restaurant didn’t have a probe food thermometer, hand-washing sink in the front area was being used as a drink dumping sink and there was no soap or paper towels for hand-washing, restaurant didn’t have the correct testing strips for sanitizer. Next inspection: Jan. 20.
Golden Corral Buffet & Grill, 616 S. Ridge Road in Wichita — Five violations on Jan. 11 during a modified complaint inspection. Leaky ceiling in back dry storage area, several dead cockroaches on floor under counter in serving area, water pooling on floor and several boxes of packaged food had water damage from ceiling leak, cockroach on floor between wall and cooking equipment, plumbing problems including drain filled with water. Next inspection: Jan. 21.
Karmelkorn at Towne East Square, 7700 E. Kellogg Drive in Wichita — Four violations on Jan. 10 during a routine inspection. No water at hand-washing sink because it’s not connected to drainage pipe, no probe food thermometer on site, no sanitizer or sanitizer testing strips in establishment. Next inspection: Jan. 20.
Lalos Express, 2051 S. Seneca in Wichita — Nine violations on Jan. 11 during a routine inspection. Cooked foods including pork and refried beans weren’t kept hot enough, restaurant didn’t have testing strips to measure concentration of chlorine sanitizer, cans of heat chafing fuel and insecticide were stored on rack near cups, no soap in women’s bathroom, dirty knife and pans with sticker residue were in clean storage, old carnitas, restaurant was using insecticide that is only rated for home use, no paper towels at kitchen hand-washing sink, chorizo and carne asada weren’t cold enough in refrigeration. Next inspection: Jan. 21.
Quality Inn South, 4849 S. Laura in Wichita — Two violations on Jan. 8 during a routine inspection. No paper towels at kitchen hand-washing sink, digital thermometer didn’t work and two probe thermometers didn’t read temperatures below 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Next inspection: Jan. 18.
River City Brewing Company, 150 N. Mosley in Wichita — Six violations on Jan. 11 during a joint inspection. Old salsa verde and cider gravy, old baja sauce and Cajun pie filling, electric mixer in clean storage had dried food on blades, open pans of raw chicken were stored above uncovered pan of cooked pork in cooler, cooked chicken tenders weren’t hot enough in steam table, pico de gallo wasn’t cold enough in refrigeration, restaurant used the same scoop for mashed potatoes for more than four hours without cleaning or sanitizing it. Next inspection: Jan. 21.
Sabor Latin Bar & Grille, 309 N. Mead in Wichita — Eight violations on Jan. 8 during a routine inspection. Cooked chicken wasn’t kept hot enough in hot holding, the restaurant didn’t have a thermometer to take food temperatures, open containers of dairy creamer and half-and-half cream weren’t labeled with package opening dates, sliced turkey wasn’t labeled with correct date it was removed from the freezer, several items including ham and turkey weren’t cold enough in the refrigerated preparation table, old pink sauce and basil and mango dressings, old flan and red sauce, knife in clean storage had food on blade, stainless steel cleaner was leaking on box of single-use portion cups. Next inspection: Jan. 18.
Spears Restaurant & Pie Shop, 4323 W. Maple in Wichita — One violation on Jan. 10 during a follow-up inspection. Several foods in kitchen cooler including ham and ground beef weren’t cold enough. Next inspection: March 10.
Walgreens, 9525 E. 21st St. in Wichita — One violation on Jan. 8 during a routine inspection. No hot water at hand-washing sink between office and walk-in cooler. Next inspection: Jan. 18.
How to complain
If you see problems at a food or lodging establishment, you can file a complaint.
To notify the state about unsavory or questionable conditions anywhere that serves or sells food to the public, email kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767. You can also file a report at www.foodsafetykansas.org.
To report an illness you think was caused by a restaurant, food or event, contact the Kansas Department of Health and Environment at 877-427-7317 or www.foodsafetykansas.org.
Complaints about conditions at hotels and motels can be submitted at https://agriculture.ks.gov/kda-services/complaint-form/food-safety-and-lodging-complaint.
For more information about foodborne illnesses, visit www.foodsafety.gov.
These businesses passed inspections
- ABC Discount Liquor, 7310 W. Central in Wichita
- Bingo Royale, 420 E. Grand in Haysville
- Casey’s General Store, 3520 N. Woodlawn in Wichita
- Cinnamon’s Deli, 209 S. West St. in Wichita
- Corner Market, 2356 S. Seneca in Wichita
- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, 619 S. Ridge Road in Wichita
- Dollar General Store, 5461 S. Hydraulic in Wichita
- El Agave Mexican Restaurant, 3236 N. Rock Road in Wichita
- Eurest T-Mobile Cafe, 2525 N. Woodlawn in Wichita
- FujiSan Sushi at Sam’s Club, 3084 N. Maize Road in Wichita
- Genesis Health Clubs, 6100 E. Central, Building 3 in Wichita
- Grow Giesen Plant Shop/Botanic at Grow, 320 S. Market, Suite 120 in Wichita
- Heritage Inn, 4539 S. Broadway in Wichita
- HuHot Mongolian Grill, 2035 N. Rock Road, Suite 119 in Wichita
- Il Vicino Wood Oven Pizza, 2132 N. Rock Road in Wichita
- Los Cocos Mexican Restaurant, 1335 N. Tyler Road in Wichita
- Mediterranean Grill, 335 S. Towne East Mall Drive in Wichita
- Mize’s Thriftway, 449 N. Fourth St. in Clearwater
- Popeyes, 3166 N. Maize Road in Wichita
- Popeyes, 3131 N. Rock Road in Wichita
- Pupuseria El Torogoz, 2061 S. Seneca in Wichita
- Qdoba Mexican Eats, 583 W. West St. in Wichita
- Rene’s Restaurant, 677 N. Eisenhower in Wichita
- Residence Inn by Marriott Wichita East at Plazzio, 1212 N. Greenwich in Wichita
- Reverie Coffee Roasters, 2202 E. Douglas in Wichita
- Scooter’s Coffee, 1468 S. Maize Road in Wichita
- Starbucks, 2222 N. Greenwich, Suite 600 in Wichita
- Starbucks, 3111 E. Central in Wichita
- Subway, 201 S. Meridian in Valley Center
- Sugar Shak Daylight Donuts, 2121 N. Tyler Road in Wichita
- Taco Bell, 3455 S. Meridian in Wichita
- Taco Shop, 601 N. West St. in Wichita
- Walgreens, 1625 S. Webb in Wichita
- Wendy’s, 8853 W. Central in Wichita
- Wesley Inn, 3343 E. Central in Wichita
- Willowbend Golf Club, 8001 E. Mulberry in Wichita
- Wyndham Garden Wichita Downtown, 221 E. Kellogg in Wichita
- Ziggy’s Pizza, 3700 E. Douglas, Suite 100 in Wichita
Note: Sometimes addresses listed — especially for mobile vendors and food trucks — are not where food is actually served to the public. Contact those establishments directly for specific service locations.
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Amy Renee Leiker has been reporting for The Wichita Eagle since 2010. She covers crime, courts and breaking news and updates the newspaper’s online databases. She’s a mom of three and loves to read in her non-work time. Reach her at 316-268-6644 or at aleiker@wichitaeagle.com.
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