From “mice poop” being found in coffee packages to moldy icemakers, health inspectors in Missouri and Kansas found numerous violations at Kansas City-area restaurants last week.
Dining establishments such as sit-down restaurants, drive-thrus, gas stations and grocery stores are required to get food inspections, and governments have to release those inspections to the public.
In Kansas City and Independence, each city’s health department enforces the food code while in Kansas, the state’s Department of Agriculture handles inspections. The lower the number of violations, the better.
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Most restaurants correct violations at the time of the original inspection or shortly after. The full inspections show how each establishment has corrected or is working to correct any remaining violations. They are available for Kansas City at inspectionsonline.us/foodsafety/mousakansascity/search.htm and Johnson and Wyandotte counties at portal.kda.ks.gov/Food/FoodInspectionSearch.
Here are the restaurants in Kansas City, as well as in Wyandotte and Johnson County, that received seven or more priority and priority foundation violations from Sept 20-26.
Blue Bird
An employee was seen handling food and changing their gloves “several times” without washing their hands. Another worker was seen preparing food without a proper hair restraint, though this was corrected.
No critical violations were found during a Sept. 26 follow up.
Margaritaville Hotel Kansas City – Landshark Lobby Bar
Several food items had preparation dates that were past due. Those items were then discarded.
Himalayan Petro (BP Quick Shop)
Coffee ground packages had “mice poop,” with the mice eating the leftover coffee grounds. Soda pop nozzles had mold and syrup build up. The ice machine was also seen having “black slime and mold” on the ice dispensing area and the reflector.
A mice nest was seen in a cabinet that had syrups and coffee. Advil was also seen that had an expiration date of June 26.
K-Macho’s Mexican Grill and Cantina
Several dishes were stored as clean despite having dried food residue on them. The dish pit’s conveyor washing machine needed fixing, as it had no detectable level of chlorine.
Old Chicago #59
Winged insects were found in three bottles of liquor at the bar. Multiple food items had to be discarded, as they did not have an open date.
Roughly 10% of dishes that were stored clean had visible debris on it.
Denny’s
A cook was seen touching a burger with bare hands. Grease and food debris was seen under the fryer. Multiple large and small flies were seen in the food preparation area.
Goodcents Deli Fresh subs
A moldy tomato was seen in the reach-in cooler. A plastic food lid with a crack in it was stored with the clean dishes.
Daylight Donuts
The ice maker was seen having mold on the side and back of the unit, as well as on a tube that is close to the ice. The facility didn’t have a handwashing machine in the front area where food and drinks are being made.
Hook & Reel
11721 Metcalf Ave., Overland ParkSeven violations found during Sept. 21 inspection
A live German cockroach sitting on dried noodles. An employee was seen using their bare hands to push over the sweet potato waffle fries.
Merriam Park Inn
An ice machine was seen having black slime and mold where the ice is dispensed. Mattresses in multiple rooms were seen with stains on them.
Which Kansas City establishments were suspended?
Two Kansas City establishments received suspensions this week. One of them was Chick-In-Waffle, 429 Westport Road, due to an emergency gas leak on Sept. 22. The establishment confirmed to The Star that they reopened the same day.
The second suspension came Sept. 23 for Paris Banh Mi, 1106 Westport Road, due to what the city reported as a “three compartment sink/grease trap backup.” The establishment confirmed to The Star that they were open for business the following day.
Dining and Cooking