Food stored improperly, unsanitary equipment, dried food debris in containers and rodent droppings were some of the health code violations Cleveland County Health Department inspectors found in Campus Corner restaurants this year.
The Daily created a database using public records found at the State Health Department website to catalog the Campus Corner and OU restaurants with the greatest number of health code violations from Jan. 1, 2011 to Aug. 1, 2014. The Daily then filed open records requests with the Cleveland County Health Department for detailed inspection reports for the top offenders.
READ >> Last year's report on health code violations at Campus Corner restaurants
As of Aug. 1, there have been less than half as many health code violations reported at Campus Corner and OU restaurants as last year, with 1,508 reported last year and 743 this year.
Campus Corner Restaurant Violations
These five Campus Corner and OU restaurants were cited for the most health code violations this year, as of Aug. 1.
Hideaway Pizza
Hideaway Pizza, 577 Buchanan Ave., had the most violations this year as of Aug. 1, with 39 violations out of six different inspections.
This was the second year Hideaway had the most violations, with 81 last year. The restaurant has also had more health department inspections than any other restaurant on campus or Campus Corner within the last two years, with 14 last year and six this year.
Certain restaurants are inspected more frequently than others based on the food process of the establishment with a facility, K.C. Ely, chief of Consumer Health Services in the Oklahoma State Department of Health, said in an email.
For example, a restaurant that sells commercially prepackaged products would be inspected less frequently than a facility that cooks from scratch, Ely said. Then there are other factors that can increase the number of inspections, such as violations that cannot be immediately corrected at the time of the inspection.
Violations at Hideaway this year included dishes dirty with food debris stored with clean dishes, hot water in the women’s restroom only labeling 88 degrees when it must reach 100 degrees for proper hand washing, an employee observed touching a dirty apron then touching food without washing hands and house made pizza sauce at improper hot holding temperatures.
Hideaway Pizza has taken steps to resolve every violation the health department has pointed out, Jane Harris, Hideaway Pizza spokeswoman said in a phone interview.
Hideaway Pizza officials are planning to remodel the store during its closed hours to prevent further violations. They also made a change in restaurant management, which took place Aug. 2, Harris said.
“We take our customers health and satisfaction as seriously as we can,” Harris said. “It is important to us that we have a quality restaurant and product. Also, to make sure everyone is enjoying their food and never have to consider any of the ramifications of the health department.”
Tea Café
Tea Café, 788 Asp Ave., has been cited for 31 health code violations this year as of Aug. 1.
The most recent health code inspection report cited violations such as dirty dishes on a clean dish rack and the same tongs used for pre-cooked chicken, beef and shrimp.
The Daily reached out to Tea Café on Aug. 20, and the owner did not respond to The Daily’s request for comment.
The Mont
The Mont, 1300 Classen Blvd., has been cited for 31 health code violations this year out of four different inspections.
No violations were reported during the restaurant’s most recent inspection July 21, but during the previous inspection it was cited for violations such as food stored at improper cold holding temperatures in the walk-in cooler, no paper towels at hand sinks by the patio drink station, an employee putting chicken on a grill without proper hair restraint, floors dirty with debris and rodent droppings by the heater, by a cold prep room and in locked liquor storage.
The Daily reached out to The Mont on Aug, 21. Management from The Mont did not respond to requests for comment.
Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dawgs, 753 Asp Ave., has been cited for 27 health code violations this year out of two different inspections.
The most recent health code inspection report cited violations such as no date marked on corned beef and pulled pork, grease built up in fryer cabinets, a shelf above a prep table dirty with food debris and a dead moth in the ice machine.
When The Daily reached out to the owner of Diamond Dawgs on Aug. 21, he wouldn’t speak on the record.
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, 752 Asp Ave., has been cited for 27 health code violations this year out of three inspections.
No violations were reported during the restaurant’s most recent inspection. Previously, Fuzzy’s was cited for an employee preparing food without a proper hair net restraint, food stored directly on the floor, a mold-like substance in the drain of a soda fountain, pans of beans exposed to splash from a nearby hand sink and rodent droppings in the patio bar area.
All of the restaurant’s minor violations are corrected on site and most of the major violations involved equipment or areas of the restaurant that were inoperable or not in use at the time, such as a hand sink and the patio bar, Fuzzy’s owner Brian Bogert said.
The violations are categorized by severity starting with items that could cause foodborne illness, which require immediate action, Ely said. The less severe violations, such as general sanitation, operational controls, sanitation standard, operating procedures, facilities or structures, equipment design or general maintenance require no greater than 90 days to correct.
If the restaurants do not correct the violations within these specified times and don’t apply for a compliance schedule that extends beyond these specified times, the restaurants will be subject to enforcement action, Ely said.
Fuzzy’s was cited on June 6 for not having adequate hand washing facilities, but Bogert said that only applied to one of the restaurant’s four hand sinks, and the three other hand sinks were properly equipped.
The restaurant was also cited during that inspection for rodent droppings in the patio bar area, but Bogert explained that the patio bar was closed for the summer, so he did not believe that violation provided a risk for customers.
“Everything interior is completely free of any insects, rodents or anything like that, but, of course, with an exterior patio there’s always going to be some finds of that especially when it is inoperable for several months out of the year,” Bogert said.
Bogert said he feels satisfied with the state of the restaurant because of the amount of food it goes through on a daily basis and because one of the health inspectors eats at the restaurant frequently.
“We feel pretty good about the product,” Bogert said.
Food safety is a priority for the safety of customers by reducing infections caused by foodborne pathogens, reducing outbreaks of foodborne illness and improving food employee behaviors and food preparation practices that directly relate to foodborne illness in retail food establishments, Ely said.
