As seen in The Pitt News on June 20, 2013.
An Oakland restaurant has been closed due to health code violations.
Due to a failure to implement corrective actions necessary for continued operation, the Allegheny County Health Department closed India Garden, which is located on the 300 block of Atwood Street, Friday. According to a sign the department posted on the door, the restaurant poses a “serious health risk to the consumer.”
The inspection, which took place last Friday, was the second such inspection the health department conducted at India Garden. The Friday report said that the management hadn’t taken the proper measures to rectify violations found during the first inspection, which was conducted on June 4, 10 days prior.
The restaurant’s owners and staff were not available for comment.
The health department ordered the establishment to close until further notice after the second inspection.
Health department spokesman Dave Zazac said that within the county, 31 out of 33 restaurants that had violations warranting a “consumer alert” like the one issued to India Garden between 2010 and 2013 made the appropriate changes, and 13 restaurants out of the 24 that were closed during that same time period reopened.
But while there have been no fines issued to Indian Garden, the restaurant must now independently correct all violations and contact the health department if they wish to receive another inspection, which could allow them to open back up.
Health department protocol allows facilities where it finds severe violations 10 days to correct them before giving them a green light from the county to resume standard operation.
According to the the June 4 report, India Garden had several critical violations of food safety codes.These included improper handling, preparation and storage of food, a member of the kitchen staff smoking a cigarette, toxic items — including a container of insecticide — improperly stored in the restaurant and improper storage temperatures for both hot and cold food.
The report also said there were cockroaches in the basement of the restaurant, in the kitchen and near a bathroom.
Zazac also said that drinking water for customers was “scooped from an open barrel.”
The report from the inspection last Friday described several of the same violations, including continued mishandling of temperature-sensitive foods and roaches both in the kitchen and other areas.
“We’re hopeful that India Garden can turn things around,” he said, “but right now, the jury’s still out as to what [the restaurant’s] next step is.”
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Image source.
Matt Singer, yes. 