Discolored food, soiled walls: See December’s Centre County restaurant inspections

Matt DiSanto
·6 min read

At least two Centre County establishments were found out of compliance following food safety inspections conducted throughout December.

The month’s failed inspections highlighted several issues at local restaurants and convenience stores, including improper food storage, expired ready-to-eat products and dirty equipment. One restaurant briefly closed due to code violations stemming from a small fire.

Information regarding county establishments and their violations appears below in an alphabetical list with a summary of the problems inspectors noted in their respective reports. More details are available upon request by visiting the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s online database.

More than 30 other establishments passed their inspections with few or no violations. They also appear alphabetically below.

Business owners who wish to clarify or comment on inspection results can contact Centre Daily Times reporter Matt DiSanto by emailing mdisanto@centredaily.com.

About food safety inspections

Following commonwealth law, Pennsylvania’s eating and drinking establishments are inspected at least once per year. Some schools, including the State College Area School District, receive biannual inspections.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture may conduct additional inspections if complaints are received or if initial inspections are not up to code.

Most observed violations are minor in scope and are corrected during inspections, but some establishments may temporarily close if too many violations are found. Closures may occur as a result of other issues, including risks for foodborne illnesses or violations that take time to address, such as broken plumbing or pest infestations.

Most inspections in Centre County are conducted at the state level through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. More than 100 municipalities directly conduct their health inspections through certified officials who fall under their jurisdiction. State College, for example, is responsible for performing inspections in the borough and in Ferguson, Patton and College townships, a borough official said.

Once inspections are complete and reports are published, you can browse them online by visiting pafoodsafety.state.pa.us/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx. You can look up establishments by name or filter results to specific cities, counties and ZIP codes.

Out-of-compliance inspections

Outback Steakhouse, 1905 Waddle Road in State College — This restaurant closed temporarily after a fire broke out in the early morning of Dec. 13. Fire officials said the blaze began in the area of a soiled linen bin outside of the restaurant, eventually causing minor smoke and water damage inside. The Australian-themed eatery was closed with no one on the premises when the fire began.

Several code violations directly tied to the fire briefly brought Outback Steakhouse out of compliance. According to its report, a Dec. 15 inspection found smoke residue on kitchen surfaces, which would require cleaning. Some ceiling tiles were damaged from water and required replacement. Additionally, any open food containers in plastic packaging needed to be thrown out due to smoke contamination.

Outback Steakhouse reopened a few days later and returned to full compliance with a follow-up inspection Dec. 27.

Uni-Mart, 1209 N. Atherton St. in State College — A Dec. 19 routine inspection found five code violations at this convenience store, most of which concerned its food products.

The online report says several ham sandwiches in a refrigerated kiosk were held at 48 degrees Fahrenheit, above the required 41-degree threshold. They were thrown out, while the refrigerated kiosk was marked for service.

Some commercially processed ready-to-eat foods, including bacon, cheese and hot dogs, were held for more than 24 hours in a walk-in cooler and not marked with the dates on which they were opened. One prepackaged ham and cheese sandwich with no date markings showed discoloration, the report says.

Several deli meat products were not marked with expiration dates. Ham, for example, featured expiration dates of Nov. 1 and Dec. 12, while some turkey products were marked Oct. 6 and Nov. 13. These products were also thrown out.

Finally, the Uni-Mart’s men’s and women’s toilets, sinks and walls were “soiled with dirt” and in need of cleaning, the report reads.

The Uni-Mart returned to compliance through a follow-up inspection Dec. 20.

How to complain about conditions

If you see a problem at a retail food or lodging establishment, you can file a complaint to catch officials’ attention.

To notify the commonwealth about questionable conditions anywhere food is served or sold to the public, call 1-866-366-3723 or fill out the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s food safety complaint form, available online at pda.pa.gov/FoodSafetyComplaint/. The form asks for consumer information, facility details and a full description of each complaint.

You can also contact the commonwealth’s Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services directly by calling 717-787-4315 or emailing RA-FoodSafety@pa.gov.

Locally, you can report concerns to State College officials by calling 814-234-7100 or emailing healthdept@statecollegepa.us.

These businesses passed inspections in December

  • Bellefonte Area High School, 830 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte

  • Bellefonte Area Middle School, 100 N. School St. in Bellefonte

  • Benner Elementary School, 490 Buffalo Run Road in Bellefonte

  • Big Lots No. 228, 503 Benner Pike in State College

  • Chick-fil-A, 1938 N. Atherton St. in State College

  • Corner Cafe & Grill, 265 Red Rock Lane in Bellefonte

  • Dollar General No. 24184, 3283 W. College Ave., Suite 100 in State College

  • Dollar General No. 5820, 644 E. Sycamore Road in Snow Shoe

  • Dollar Tree No. 597, 1657 N. Atherton St. in State College

  • Dunkin, 141 S. Garnet St. in State College

  • Gu Dong Hot Pot Delivery, 1212 N. Atherton St. in State College

  • Homan’s General Store, 125 Old Fort Road in Spring Mills

  • Hoss’s Steak & Sea House, 1450 N. Atherton St. in State College

  • Marion-Walker Elementary School, 100 School Drive in Hublersburg

  • Millheim American Legion 444, 112 Legion Lane, P.O. Box 301 in Millheim

  • Millheim Food Mart, 169 W. Main St. in Millheim

  • Mountain Top Fire Company (TFS4), 392 State St., P.O. Box 50 in Sandy Ridge

  • Musser Farm Market, 793 Musser Lane in Bellefonte

  • Newman Sandwich Shop Inc., 781 Clarence Road in Clarence

  • Original Brothers Pizza & Sub, 201 W. Olive St. in Snow Shoe

  • Penang Asian Fusion, 1221 N. Atherton St. in State College

  • Queen of Archangels Banquet Hall and Recreation Center (TFS4), 202 S. 4th St. in Snow Shoe

  • Seven Mountains Wine Cellars, 107 Mountain Springs Lane in Spring Mills

  • Snappy’s No. 517, 412 Walton St. in Philipsburg

  • Weis No. 187, 170 Buckaroo Lane in Bellefonte

  • St. John Evangelist School, 116 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte

  • Streamside Family Restaurant, 137 Streamside Place in Spring Mills

  • The Village at Penn State Cafe and Bistro, 260 Lions Hill Road in State College

  • Time Saver, 224 Boal Ave. in Boalsburg

  • Uni-Mart, 106 W. College Ave. in Pleasant Gap

  • Valley Wok Co., 135 Railroad St. in Spring Mills

Note: Occasionally, a listed address — especially for mobile vendors and food trucks — is not where food is actually served to the public. Contact those establishments directly for specific service locations.