Mold, mice and a bunny: What Kansas food safety inspections found in Topeka last month

Kansas food safety and lodging inspectors found more than a dozen Topeka establishments to be out of compliance with state law in June.

Kansas law delegates to the Kansas Department of Agriculture the authority to regulate food establishments, food processing plants and lodging establishments. Violations — particularly priority violations linked to causes of foodborne illness — can lead to various consequences, including the immediate closure of an establishment.

Kansas Department of Agriculture records show that while most Topeka service establishments passed inspections in June with either no violations or no serious ones, several failed. Most inspections were routine, but inspectors also visited after complaints, for licensing, follow-ups and other reasons.

Out-of-compliance food establishments in Topeka

The following establishments were listed as out of compliance with state law after inspections in June.

• Joann, 1133 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite 200.

The June 27 routine inspection found one violation, for a pest: "a live wild bunny" found in a stock area.

The person in charge told inspectors that the bunny "came in the back receiving door on 6/26 during a truck delivery and they have tried to remove it but the bunny will hide under pallets and behind big tall stacks of cases of product." The plan was to trap it alive and remove it.

The establishment was back in compliance after a July 1 follow-up. The report does not mention what happened to the bunny.

• La Loncherita, 2408 S.W. Morningside Road.

The June 25 routine inspection found one violation, for a nonfunctioning refrigerated food prep table.

The establishment was back in compliance after a July 9 follow-up.

• El Dorado Mexican Grill & Cantina, 3627 S.E. 29th St., Suite 101.

The June 24 joint inspection found 10 violations.

Two food prep tables were not keeping food cold enough, there were foods without open dates, two pans of taco meat had no date mark, a spatula was chipped, there was no working thermometer, two vegetable slicers were on the floor, six knives had food debris as did the can opener, the ice maker reflector had black mold while the shoot had a pinkish brown mold, a handwashing sink had no soap, plastic bottles of liquid had no labels, a pan of cooked chicken was stored on the floor of a cooler and both prep tables had stick fly traps hanging from the ceiling above that "could allow pests to fall into the food."

The establishment remained out of compliance after a July 8 follow-up found six violations.

• El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant, 3425 S. Kansas Ave.

The June 24 joint inspection found 19 violations.

The bar area had 10 bottles of liquor with winged insects in the liquor.

Seafood did not have a parasite destruction letter from the supplier. There were no shellstock tags for oysters and mussels. The restaurant was serving raw and undercooked seafood, and there was no asterisk next to the items on the menu.

A pan of pico was not kept cool enough, and neither was a pan of chicken nuggets. Wells of queso and Spanish rice were not kept hot enough.

A pan of green chili and a bag of mixed seafood were held past seven days. A pan of flan, a tray of tamales and bira sauce did not have preparation dates, while other items did not have open dates.

The soda nozzle gun had mold in the spout. The can opener had food debris. The handwashing sink at the kitchen entrance had a boombox in it. The bar area handwashing sink had no paper towels. The hose of the mop sink needed hung up.

The establishment remained out of compliance after a July 8 follow-up that found three violations.

• Church's Chicken, 201 S.E. 29th St.

The June 17 joint inspection found three violations.

Inspectors found a cross contamination issue with pans of raw chicken tenders stored directly over bags of honey and a pest issue because of a roach on a back wall by pop syrup boxes. There was also a bottle of Ortho insect killer on the kitchen floor that was not for commercial building use.

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 27 follow-up.

• Wingstop, 2121 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite 103.

A June 17 inspection, the first operational inspection after licensing, found two violations.

There were 30 pans of fries that were not being cooled properly. The men's restroom sink did not have hot water.

The establishment remained out of compliance after a June 27 follow-up that found one violation.

• Cookies by Gayla, 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

The June 13 inspection for an FDA contract found five federal code violations.

The label for espresso crunch pretzel piez did not contain metric value for weight and did not list all component ingredients.

Inspectors also found a bathroom door where the door closer was not automatically closing the door, a small bucket of sanitizer sitting directly on the floor and that food gloves and wiping cloths were being shorted in the restroom.

After an initial follow-up on June 27 where the label issues had not yet been rectified, the establishment was back in compliance during a July 9 follow-up.

• Weller's Grill & Bar, 222 Independence Ave.

The June 13 routine inspection found eight violations.

The temperature in the refrigerated food prep table was not cold enough, and the lettuce, ham, tomatoes, sour cream cheese slices, onion and pickle that were inside were not cool enough.

A rubber spatula had breaks, racks and ragged edges. Six spray bottles were stored with nozzles pointing at clean food containers, cutting boards and food processing equipment. The French fry pressing machine had stuck residue, as did the inside of a microwave. The bar handwashing sink had no soap and no paper towels.

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 27 follow-up.

• Adventure Cove, 3300 S.E. Croco.

The June 13 routine inspection found four violations.

A ceiling tile above the concessions ware washing sink had been moved over exposing the open space, there were four cases of Frito Lay chips stacked directly on the floor, suckers and other candy were found to have been chewed up and there were fresh rodent droppings. The person in charge told inspectors that "they have found 2 mice since they have opened the concession and they were found floating in one of the toilets."

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 24 follow-up.

• Rossville Fresh Market, 551 E. US-24 highway in Rossville.

The June 12 licensing-operational inspection found 14 violations.

There were damaged cans of food, packages of produce without date marks, unlabeled food products, ready to eat food on a shelf below raw bacon, raw eggs above cheese, dish detergent in the stock room stored above licorice and several items on store shelves were outdated.

The delicatessen had food in a hot holding case that was not kept hot enough, there were foods held past the sell by date, a food container and cutting board that were too damaged to be able to be properly cleaned, there were no unspoiled test strips, several containers had built up food residue, the underside of the slicer machine had food scraps, the microwave had dried food and grease on the ceiling, there was an unlabeled spray bottle and wiping cloths in bleach needed the sanitizer solution remade.

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 26 follow-up.

• Pizza Hut, 2119 S.W. Gage Blvd.

The June 12 routine inspection found two violations.

The pizza make table was not keeping the air temperature cold enough, and Canadian bacon, bacon, hamburger, tomatoes and black olives were too warm. Food pans and a scoop stored as clean had food debris.

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 22 follow-up.

• Baymont Inn & Suites, 1401 S.W. Ashworth Place.

A June 6 inspection, following up on a May 21 routine inspection, found one violation for the ware washing sink not having hot water.

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 12 follow-up.

• Annie's Place, 4014 Gage Center Drive.

The June 11 complaint inspection found three violations.

The reach-in cooler had tomatoes, lettuce and raw hamburger that were not kept cool enough. A ledge in the cooler had more than 10 rodent droppings. There were three live juvenile cockroaches near the salad area, while stick traps in the bakery area had more than five dead cockroaches.

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 25 follow-up.

• Love Me Tenderz's, 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite VC06.

The June 11 licensing-operational inspection found three violations.

The walk-in cooler did not have a cold enough air temperature, and raw chicken was not kept cool enough. Containers for storing raw chicken and flour were not food-grade. There was an issue with the atmospheric vacuum breaker at the service mop sink when water supply was turned on.

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 25 follow-up.

• North Star Steakhouse, 1100 N.W. 25th St.

The June 6 routine inspection found five violations.

The handle of a scoop for the flour breading mixture was touching the food product. A dozen raw eggs were stored above bottled beer. A vegetable medley of onions, potatoes and chives was unrefrigerated. A cabinet had dried rodent droppings. Another cabinet had built up food crumbs and residue in contact with trays being stored as clean. The interior of the ice machine had black mold.

The establishment was back in compliance after a June 26 follow-up.

Inspections found these Topeka establishments were in compliance

The following service establishments were in compliance when inspectors visited in June with either no violations or only relatively minor ones.

Summer nutrition program at Topeka Bible Church, 1135 S.W. College Ave.

The Home City Ice Company, 6800 S.E. Evans St., Suite 321-G.

Boxer Q BBQ, 1804 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

BP Gas Station-Amoco Northland, 3000 N. Topeka Blvd.

Dornwood Ball Park Concessions, 2815 S.E. 25th St.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, 1050 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

Function Flatables Concession Trailer-Carnival Cravings, 2730 S.W. 57th St., No. W1.

Mars Wrigley Confectionery, 240 S.E. Madison St.

Rosi's Food, 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

Summer nutrition program at Oakland Community Center, 801 N.E. Poplar.

Summer nutrition program at Rice Community Center, 432 S.E. Norwood St.

Summer nutrition program at Sent Prep Academy, 206 S.E. Lakewood Court.

Summer nutrition program at Sportszone, 3909 S.W. Burlingame Road.

Summer nutrition program at YWCA Early Learning Center, 225 S.W. 12th St.

Straight Water, 1023 S.W. Gage Blvd.

The Suenos Shop, 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

Advisors Excel, 2950 S.W. McClure Road.

Dillons Store, 4015 S.W. 10th St.

Goodcents Deli Fresh Subs, 4210 S.W. 21st St.

La Victoria, 10025 N.W. U.S. Highway 24 in Silver Lake.

Lake Shawnee Baseball Complex No. 1, 3025 S.E. Croco Road.

Summer nutrition program at St. David's Episcopal Church, 3916 S.W. 17th St.

Skinnys Sports Bar & Grill, 4016 S.W. Huntoon.

Summer nutrition program at YMCA Southwest, 3635 S.W. Chelsea Drive.

Blue Jazz Java, 6540 S.E. Johnston St.

El Taquito Express, 5141 29th St.

Glory Days Pizza, 1033 S.W. Gage Blvd.

Iron Rail Brewing, 705 S. Kansas Ave.

Summer nutrition program at Westminster Church, 1275 S.W. Boswell.

Topeka BBQ Shop, 5331 S.W. 22nd Place.

Stormont Vail Events Center - Exhibition Hall Attention Hospitality, 1 Expocentre Drive.

Saucey Wrap Shack, 1945 S.W. Macvicar Ave.

CVS Pharmacy, 3901 21st St.

Flowers Baking Co. of Lenexa, 3106 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

Long John Silver's, 2117 Topeka Blvd.

Summer nutrition program at Frist Lutheran Church, 1234 S.W. Fairlawn Road.

Valera 1 Stop, 706 S.W. Fairlawn Road.

Aliha Ent, 1245 S.E. 29th St.

Capcity Outlet, 115 S.W. 29th St.

Hotel Topeka at City Center, 1717 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

Huntoon Street Smoke Shop, 1237 Huntoon St.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Activities Center, 216 Branner.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 201 Chandler.

Summer nutrition program at First Christian Church, S.W. Gage Blvd.

AFC Sushi at Dillons, 6829 29th St.

Casey's General Store, 424 Chestnut in Silver Lake.

Dollar General Store, 1401 S.W. Gage Blvd.

Summer nutrition program at Bright Circle Pre School, 401 S.W. Oakley Ave.

Auburn Ball Association, 1020 N. Washington in Auburn.

Rueger Park Concession, 2801 S.W. Kansas Ave.

Sai Gon Restaurant, 3200 S.W. 29th St.

Summer nutrition program at Grace Point Church, 5400 S.W. Huntoon St.

Southwest Youth Association, S.W. 61st and Wanamaker.

Subway, 6020 S.W. 29th St.

Hazel Hill Chocolate Traditions, 724 S. Kansas Ave.

Synergy Nutrition, 4010 S.W. Huntoon.

Walgreens, 3900 S.W. 29th St.

B&B Theatres Topeka Wheatfield 9, 2829 S.W. Fairlawn Road.

Dillons Store, 2010 S.E. 29th St.

Dollar General Store, 2042 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

, 1421 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

Tractor Supply Company, 710 N.E. US-24 highway.

JLQ Mexi-Q, 2124 S.E. 37th.

Rosi's Food, 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

Vuelve a la Vida, 3309 S.E. Fremont.

Whayne's Herbs & Natural Products, 6731 S.W. Winwood Lane.

Arby's, 1820 S.E. 29th St.

Hermans Beef & Sausage House, 823 N.W. Gordon St.

The Villa Event Venue, 2941 S.E. Fremont St.

1 Stop, 1320 S.W. Sixth Ave.

Dillons Store, 6829 S.W. 29th St.

Texas Roadhouse, 5901 S.W. Huntoon St.

Topeka Country Club, 2700 Buchanan.

Cryster Asian Diner, 4731 N.W. Hunters Ridge, Circle No. A.

El Gallo Xpress, 3501 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

Lake Shawnee Girls Softball Concession, 3421 S.E. Leisure Lane.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken / Phillip 66, 810 S.E. 15th St.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.