Northborough Mexican eatery remains closed; town officials await plan to fix issues
NORTHBOROUGH — There is no timetable for a Route 9 restaurant to reopen after it was forced to closed last month due to backed-up sewage and illegal bedrooms found in the basement, a town official said.
Owners of Casa Vallarta Family Mexican Restaurant, 45 Belmont St., have not presented a plan to correct problems, town Health Director Kristin Black said Thursday.
"We have not heard from the owners on how they're going to address it," she said.
The problems were discovered Oct. 20 when the Fire Department responded to an alarm at the restaurant. At that time, firefighters found standing water in the bar and leaking pipes in the basement. They also found three illegal bedrooms in the basement, authorities said.
The standing water and leaking pipes were found to be the result of a sewage backup, and the Health Department immediately ordered the restaurant closed.
Earlier: Northborough restaurant forced to close due to sewage issue, illegal bedrooms
Black said restaurant owners have pulled a permit to repair electrical issues in the building, and that they had — prior to being shut down — pulled a permit to allow for replacement of the septic system. But there is no word on a timetable for those fixes.
But even if those problems are corrected, it does not answer questions the Building Department has regarding the bedrooms.
The Building Department referred questions to the office of Town Administrator John Coderre. But the Town Administrator's office referred questions back to the Building Department.
No one from the Building Department could be reached for comment on Thursday.
The Board of Health is scheduled to discuss Casa Vallarta during its meeting on Tuesday, although Black does not anticipate taking any action.
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Casa Vallarta has been forced to close three times in less than 18 months. It was ordered to close temporarily twice last year due to food safety problems.
No one answered the phone at Casa Vallarta on Thursday. The number does not accept messages.
Casa Vallarta has seven locations. Besides Northborough, there are restaurants in Brockton, Falmouth, Saugus and Springfield, as well as in Poughkeepsie and Lake Katrine in New York. It states on its website that it serves "authentic Mexican-styled foods from the port of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean coast."
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Northborough officials await plans to correct issues at Mexican eatery
