Fair or unfair?
John Graf, CEO of the Priory Hospitality Group on the North Side and a prominent member of the local restaurant scene, said he had “heard some chatter” recently that “inspectors were being a lot more thorough with inspections.”
“We think restaurants need to be clean and operators need to follow guidelines,” said Mr. Graf, immediate past chairman of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. “If they are not doing that, and there is a penalty to be paid, we are fully on board with the health department and its efforts.”
One potential concern, he said, is the subjectivity of
“It’s our hope the department, when looking at subjective issues, will work with the operator to make sure something is taken care of [over time]. If it’s not subjective, say like food temperatures, someone needs to get right on that.”
So far, Mr. Graf said, “We really haven’t heard any complaints of unfairness.”
But some businesses in the department’s cross hairs have a different view.
After a consumer alert was posted at the Las Palmas grocery store and taco stand in Oakland in January, management posted a sign on the front door accusing the health department of racism.
It contended the alert was an attempt to give the Atwood Street store a “bad reputation” or put it out of business, “only because the owners of this shop happen to be Hispanics.”
The health department “enforces without regard to race, gender, nationality, etc.,” spokeswoman Melissa Wade said in an email then.
Las Palmas manager Yanelis Tome said last week that the owners were frustrated because they felt the business was being unfairly targeted.
The facility had been ordered to close on Nov. 1 because of the “extensive presence of rats, roaches, flies and fruit flies,” in addition to malfunctioning refrigeration, holding food at unsafe temperatures and product on the shelves in unsound condition, including chewed open packages of pasta, beans, rice and cookies, according to the inspection report. The closure followed a consumer alert in September and two in 2015 for similar violations.
Las Palmas reopened in December after undergoing renovations. The Jan. 10 consumer alert was issued after an inspector recorded 14 violations, including holding multiple foods at unsafe temperatures, poor sanitization and an employee handling raw meat and cooked tacos with the same pair of gloves, according to the report. The alert was removed Jan. 24.
“We don’t get a break,” Ms. Tome said last week. “If you go to other businesses, they are a mess, and they don’t order them to close.”
On the frontlines