Downtown Columbia eatery inspected after complaint made to health department

A complaint lodged against a downtown eatery with Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services meant another inspection for an establishment that recently had its regular inspections.

A department inspector observed pests and signs of pests at Sub Shop, 209 S. Eighth St., near a grease trap and a food preparation table July 9. The restaurant had until Monday to remove pests and the conditions that allowed them in first place, along with providing documents of the most recent pest control visit. The follow-up report was not available when this story was submitted for publication.

This location of Sub Shop had its routine inspection July 25 and a follow-up July 29 due to employees smoking in the back doorway with the door open, dented cans in dry storage, food out of date in a cooler, a soiled prep line cooler, among other issues. The Tribune was unable to access the full reports at the time.

The other issues found July 25 when reviewing reports again included heavily soiled floors and racks in a walk-in cooler; a soiled ice receptacle at the drink machines; a heavily soiled oven in the food prep area; a gap between the door and the ground at the back door, which likely let in pests; a large number of dead bugs around the grease trap and a can of epoxy on a dry food storage shelf. All those issues, except the gap at the back door were addressed by July 29. The door gap issue was slated for a follow-up inspection Aug. 1, but a report from then was not available.

Routine inspections happen two to three times per year based on priority and location of Columbia restaurants, PHHS previously has said. Follow-up inspections happen if a critical violation is found. Restaurants usually can correct noncritical violations by the next routine inspection. Reports are from Aug. 6 through Monday, unless otherwise noted.

No violations during several routine inspections

A significant number of inspections last week, though, did not have any health violations in inspection reports.

Restaurants and other eateries passing routine inspections included:

• Insomnia Cookies, 308 S. Ninth St., Aug. 6. Valid food handler cards were presented addressing a previous violation;
• Chicken Salad Chick, 300 Brickton Road, Aug. 6;
• Booche's Billiard Hall, 110 S. Ninth St., Aug. 6;
• Bangkok Gardens, 811 Cherry St., Aug. 7;
• Golden Corral, 3421 Clark Lane, Aug. 8;
• El Jarrito, 3305 Clark Lane Suite B, Aug. 8;
• El Poblano Grill and Cantina, 2513 Old Highway 63 Suite 103, Aug. 9;
• Bandana's Bar-B-Q, 3405 Clark Lane, Monday. A discussion was held with management on repairing a latch to a walk-in cooler to ensure its temperature remains within the proper range;
• First Watch, 1301 Grindstone Parkway Building D, Monday. A proactive caution was given, though, on cleaning the establishment's ice machine.
• Stadium Grill, 1219 Fellows Place, Monday;
• Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux, 2541 Broadway Bluffs Drive, Monday.

Repeat violations; temperature issues

For other restaurants they were dealing with repeat or temperature control issues.

Hooters, 1101 Woodland Springs Court, had repeat critical violations Aug. 8 of excessive mineral buildup on and around a bar dish machine, and rusted racks in a bar cooler holding glasses. The restaurant was to address these issues by Wednesday, but a report was not yet available when this story was submitted for publication. Noncritical issues included excessive grease buildup behind and under fryers and other cooking equipment; lobby floor in disrepair in multiple locations, along with trim missing between different floor types. These issues can be fixed by the December routine inspection.

Issues at 44 Tavern, 5500 W. Van Horn Taven Road, generally were addressed during a routine inspection Aug. 7 and the follow-up inspection Aug. 9. Violations addressed by the follow-up were a soiled ice machine and lack of hand soap at a hand wash sink. Main issues were addressed Aug. 7. This included discarding pickled vegetables and an ice bath that did not have a time stamp or log. Education was provided on time as a temperature control. Potentially hazardous food items held at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or above for four or more hours also was discarded. An inspector expects proof of repair before management can again store food in a cooler that was out of temp, which was noted as a noncritical issue. The restaurant also has until November to ensure all restaurant employees have food handler cards and a food manager certificate onsite.

Violations addressed during inspections

A group of Columbia restaurants addressed violations as they were highlighted by the inspector, rather than waiting until a follow-up inspection.

A soiled ice chute was cleaned during the Aug. 6 inspection at the Kaldi's Coffee kiosk inside Schnuck's grocery store, 1400 Forum Blvd. The inspector also had a discussion with management on leaving lids off skim milk and half-and-half to facilitate easier cooling when those items are returned to refrigeration on an hourly basis.

Pasta La Fata, 1207 Rogers St. Suite 106, had some food past its date mark during the Aug. 7 routine inspection, which was discarded. This same issue was addressed at Belly Market and Rotisserie, 1010 Club Village Drive Suite C, and Endwell Taverna, 107 N. Ninth St., also on Aug. 7. There was ice buildup in a freezer at Belly Market, which can be defrosted by December. A discussion was held with Endwell Taverna management on drying procedures after dishware and more is cleaned.

Noncritical violations; attempted inspections

A fair number of restaurants only had noncritical violations, meaning they have a bit more time to address those issues.

Management at Sipz Soda, 124 E. Nifong Blvd. Suite J, were unable to provide valid food handler cards Aug. 6. The inspector is sending information via email for staff to obtain cards for those who are not yet certified. A label was added to a unlabeled spray bottle filled with water. This led to a discussion with management about labeling all spray bottles. All other spray bottles had proper labeling.

Reach-in coolers at Le Bao, 1009 Park Ave., and The 5th Down Bar and Grill, 912 Rain Forest Parkway, in routine inspections Aug. 7, did not have a thermometer. They can get one by December and November routine inspections, respectively.

Smoothie King, 1203 E. Broadway, had excessive ice buildup in a freezer Aug. 7, which can be defrosted by its next routine inspection in December. This same issue was found at Italian Village, 711 Vandiver Drive, on Aug. 9. It also has until a December routine inspection to defrost.

A couple restaurants were to have inspections in the last week, but were closed when an inspector attempted the routine inspection. This included Imperial Coffee House, 1725 Paris Road, on Aug. 8, and the 3110 Clark Lane location of Wendy's on Monday.

Routine and follow-up inspections

Chili's Bar and Grill, 41 Conley Road, during a routine inspection Aug. 9 had a soiled ice machine. The restaurant was to have a follow-up on this issue Wednesday, but a report was not yet available. The restaurant can address excessive ice buildup in a chest freezer by December.

A soiled ice chute on a soda machine at Hawaiian Bros Island Grill, 1401 Grindstone Parkway needs cleaning by Wednesday after it had a routine inspection Monday. Food products also were found stored on the floor of a walk-in cooler instead of six inches off the floor. This issue can be corrected by December, though. The inspector held a discussion with management about dishwashing procedures and sanitizer concentration.

Restaurants that had previous routine inspections generally addressed violations by a follow-up inspection.

A soiled ice machine and soda gun nozzle were cleaned and sanitized and an air gap was added at a three-basin dish sink for a water sprayer at Tropical Liquer, 515 E. Broadway, on Aug. 6.

Bubble House, inside the Columbia Mall, 2300 Bernadette Drive Suite 714, on Aug. 6 had a clean and sanitized ice chest after its routine inspection Aug. 1.

Previous violations at Ozark Mountain Biscuit and Bar, 1204 Hinkson Ave., of dented cans in dry storage, a reach-in cooler out of temperature, the dishwasher not getting hot enough to sanitize dishes and lack of a hand drying method at a hand wash sink all were addressed by Aug. 7.

Bud's Classic BBQ, 304 S. Ninth St., had a soiled ice Machine Aug. 5. It was cleaned by Aug. 8.

A soiled ice machine, soda nozzles and ice chute all were cleaned by Aug. 9 after an Aug. 5 routine inspection at Dairy Queen, 1201 Forum Blvd. The restaurant will need to get new soda nozzles by the December routine inspection, as well.

Previously: Food handled with bare hands during inspection at popular Columbia eatery

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on X, formerly Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Downtown Columbia eatery inspected after complaint made to health department