Three businesses fail health inspections
Cockroaches and flies in the kitchen area, raw meat stored above cooked food and dirty utensils used at a food prep station are just some of the most recent violations that caused three establishments to fail health inspections in the past month.
A hotel in Round Rock, a Cedar Park restaurant and a Jarrell convenience store failed inspections in July for multiple health code violations, according to data from Williamson County and Cities Health District inspection reports.
Kung Fu Buffet in Cedar Park, which also failed an inspection in June, received 27 health code violations in its inspection report.
Violations included flies in the kitchen area, soiled shelving above uncovered food and kitchen floors behind woks “heavily coated” in debris.
“No, we already fixed everything,” said a Kung Fu Buffet manager who declined to provide his name in a phone call. “The health department is coming again. We are fixing it all and cleaning.”
In June, the restaurant received 25 violations, including an employee handling raw chicken and then cooked chicken without washing hands; kitchen staff using cans as utensils; and hot water unavailable throughout the restaurant, according to the document.
Round Rock’s Comfort Suites and the Jarrell C-Store off Interstate 35 also failed inspections in July, according to the document.
Both establishments received more than 15 violations, and Comfort Suites was nearly forced to close because of faulty refrigeration before it was fixed, according to a report.
Comfort Suites received 18 violations in the report. Among those violations were a refrigerator left open, causing inadequate cooling; employees not presenting state-required food handling cards; and an employee handling ready-to-eat foods with bare hands.
“I informed the employee to make sure they wear gloves at all times,” said Hank Patel, the owner of Comfort Suites in Round Rock.
Jarrell C-Store received 20 violations in its inspection. The most egregious were roaches in the kitchen area, gnats on bakery cookies and a sauce holder at the food prep station visibly soiled, according to the document.
Several phone calls to get comment from Jarrell C-Store resulted in a busy or disconnected line.
Despite a restaurant’s failure, the Williamson County and Cities Health District gives an establishment two days to fix the violations unless it is identified as a health hazard. If it is an imminent health hazard, the establishment will be closed until the violation is resolved.
“If they failed an inspection, we put a sign on the door that notifies customers they were not in compliance and they have 48 hours to fix their inefficiencies and they get inspected 48 hours after,” said Deb Strahler of the Williamson County and Cities Health District.
A food establishment fails if it receives a score of 30 or more on the inspection checklist, and violations are scored differently. An initial failed inspection is followed by another inspection, allowing establishments to pass or be forced to close immediately to ensure public safety.