Eleven local restaurants and institutions are out of compliance this month. While cleaning tasks were fewer, date markings and proper refrigeration continued to be a problem. Watermark at Bellingham, an assisted living facility, had a particularly concerning report made more so by the fact many of their clients don’t have the option to go elsewhere. Otherwise, not terrible, but I would suggest sticking to the hard stuff if you’re heading to the Elks Club, and maybe avoiding King’s Garden altogether until the new certified food manager is in place.

Watermark at Bellingham, 1615 Boot Rd, out, 18 violations including two containers of berries observed with mold; a vat of chili not properly cooled; a main kitchen reach-in cooler not keeping foods sufficiently cool; and taco meat, chicken tenders, cut tomato, and cut lettuce left out unrefrigerated. All the previously mentioned food was discarded during the inspection.

In addition, mouse droppings were found in both the main kitchen and the downstairs dry storage area. Ants were found in the main kitchen and the tavern prep kitchen. The facility was directed to take measures to control, reduce, and eliminate pests including immediately cleaning the floors, food prep, and storage areas. The inspectors further stated a “regular cleaning schedule must be implemented IMMEDIATELY for all food prep areas.”

Perhaps the scariest thing about this inspection: it’s a follow-up. Inspectors originally visited on May 2 and noted 36 violations. Watermark at Bellingham markets itself as a “luxury” senior living facility in West Chester. In addition to independent living, they offer personal care, memory care, and rehabilitation stays.  

Ryan’s Pub, 133 E. Gay St., out, 7 violations including fruit flies in the upstairs bar, broken glass in the bar sink and all over the basement floor, and storage containers that were literally breaking apart raising concerns over “physical pieces entering food.”

Buddy’s Burgers, Breasts, and Fries, 11 W. Gay St., out, 3 violations including having no meat thermometers onsite and only having expired sanitizer test strips which is probably not that big of a deal seeing the sanitizer was also expired. New supplies of both have been ordered.

Mizuna Catering, 510 E. Barnard St., out, 8 violations including employee food mixed with customer food, ready-to-eat foods stored without a date marking, and a food processor too close to the mop sink. When employees clean the mops spray back is splattering the equipment.

Las Vegas Pizza, 515 E. Gay St., out, 5 violations including garlic and oil not being refrigerated and a pizza prep refrigerator not keeping foods cool enough. Also, a separate 4-door freezer was found repaired with duct tape. While my dad would approve, the health inspectors did not. “Replace to ensure proper freezing,” they directed.

Papa John’s, 510 E. Gay St, out, 5 violations including expired sanitizer strips, no covered trash receptacles in the restroom, and prepackaged pizza sauce without a label. Papa John’s corporate is being contacted about the labels.

Domino’s Pizza, 241 E. Gay St., out, 7 violations including a leak over the food prep area. The food prep table was moved, cleaned, and sanitized and the restaurant was directed not to use the area under the leak until the leak was repaired.

Elk’s Club, 401 W. Washington St., out, 1 violation, but it’s a doozy. Multiple dead mice were found floating in a soda syrup container in the basement. The social club was ordered to discard the container immediately and follow up with updated pest control reports.

Pepper Mill, 813 N. Chester Rd, out, 4 violations including several potentially hazardous ready-to-eat foods stored past their expiration dates. These items were discarded at the time of the inspection and the managers were directed to use a “first in, first out” method of food storage to ensure food is rotated.

Colonial Village Market, 929 S. High St, out, 7 violations including staff wearing bracelets and watches and eating while working. Also, pickle barrel tongs, a towel dispenser, and the walk-in refrigerator floors all in need of a good cleaning.  

King’s Garden Restaurant, 308 S. High St, out 18 violations, including employees changing tasks without washing hands in between; ready-to-eat foods not marked with the date they were made; dirty rags air drying from a wire in the kitchen; utensils stored without being properly cleaned first; first aid supplies stored near the food; and a variety of broken and unused items that need to be removed and properly discarded. This is the King’s Garden’s second out-of-compliance report in a month and, in a first, for me anyway, the restaurant was directed to name a new certified food manager.

While King’s Garden continued to struggle last month, many other local restaurants have been busy cleaning up. Back in compliance from April are Fellini Cafe, Spence Cafe, Hannum Seafood and Produce, Sabatino’s Grille, Countryside Food Mart, DK Diner, BP Westtown, Saucey’s Pizza, 7-Eleven (both), Primo Hoagies, Qdoba Mexican Eats, Taco Maya 2, Bagel Bistro, Mike’s Pizza, Giant, Penn’s Table, and Highland Orchards.  

You can find all the restaurant inspection reports here. Search by location for more details.

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Originally published on June 7, 2024

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