Most restaurant violations now cleared up from last inspections

Feb. 25—Those in the food industry business are expected to keep their establishments as sanitary as possible, and some are crediting the pandemic for doing just that.

The Oklahoma State Department of Heath keeps tabs on restaurants with routine inspections throughout the year. A facility that cooks food to order would receive two routine inspections a year. A retail store that sells commercially packaged items would only get one routine inspection a year.

It's not uncommon for restaurants to receive violations, whether they be "priority" or general violations.

Priority violations include issues that could lead to an increase risk of food-borne illnesses, such as improper or lack of hand-washing or how quickly food is reheated or cooled down.

The Branch received violations during its last inspection in March 2020, and they were related to hand-washing facilities, in-use utensils' proper storage, and cleaning frequently.

The Branch General Manager Justin Kelley said they typically correct issues as the inspector goes through.

"I believe one of the things was because of a hot water leak, which takes away from the temperature in the dishwasher. However, that was fixed that next day," said Kelley. "So as of now, we have no active violations to my knowledge.

Kelley said the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more precise with their sanitation and codes they have to uphold.

According to the OSHD Rule 310:257, a person cannot operate a food service establishment without a valid license, or temporary permit issued by the health department.

During a January 2020 inspection, The Rollie Pollie violated a valid license to operate, which was non-transferable. No inspection has been listed since then.

Restaurants that can't fix an issue are usually given a period of time to do so, and most violations are corrected within a reasonable time frame.

An inspection conducted in February 2020 at Lift Coffee Bar showed violations in the areas of properly labeled food, consumer advisory, child menu, and allergen label.

General Manager Jarrod Railey said that inspection was done around the time Lift Coffee Bar had been open for about four months.

"Some of it was basic things like getting a meat thermometer, test strips for the sanitizer water, and labeling the dry goods," said Railey. "Some of it was just very basic things that we took care of immediately. We needed to be properly supplied and now we are."

Among other restaurants in Tahlequah that received zero violations on their last inspections were Burger King, Sunrise Donuts, Pizza by Manooch, Jimmy's Egg, El Molcajete, and Chick-fil-A.

Two restaurants with "priority violations" during their most recent inspections were Southside Drive In and Jose's Mexican Restaurant in Tahlequah.

Bill Nottingham, Southside Drive In owner, said the violations pertaining to hands being clean and washed. He says those have been addressed and resolved.

"We're using gloves now, and the report this year should show we're using gloves," said Nottingham.

On an inspection in December, the health department reported Jose's Mexican Restaurant violated rules regarding demonstrations of knowledge, adequate hand-washing facilities, and hand antiseptic. When the Daily Press asked to speak with a manager, the individual on the phone and said the issues had been addressed. When asked to identify herself, the individual abruptly hung up the phone.

Check it out

The Oklahoma Department of Health maintains its health inspection findings online at https://www.phinstate.ok.us/inspections/.