March health code inspections: No Douglas County organizations found out of compliance before state suspended inspections

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No organizations in Douglas County failed health code inspections in March before the state suspended most of the operation midmonth because of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, prior to the suspension, four Lawrence businesses that were found out of compliance in February received follow-up inspections and are now listed as in compliance.

Heather Lansdowne, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, said the department suspended routine health code inspections when the state put much of its food and lodging staff on administrative leave on March 23 to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In the meantime, the department is conducting only complaint and licensing inspections, she said.

Each month, I take a look at the inspection results and list every place either listed out of compliance or with 10 or more code violations. Full reports are available online at agriculture.ks.gov.

There, you can find details about specific violations, which can vary. Noncritical citations include unlabeled products, improperly stored cleaning materials, minor plumbing issues and more. Critical violations include cross-contamination of raw and cooked foods, insect and rodent issues, unclean food preparation areas and more.

Some violations may be corrected during the inspection, while others take longer to fix and require follow-up inspections.

All businesses, even those listed out of compliance, met the basic requirements to safely remain open, unless otherwise noted.

With this regular report, I try to provide basic information about food inspections in Douglas County. But because of the sheer volume of inspections, it’s difficult to offer detailed information about each establishment.

But no Douglas County organizations failed their inspections. Instead, here are the results of Douglas County follow-up inspections conducted in March on businesses found out of compliance in February:

• Conoco Food Mart, 1801 W. Second St., last had a follow-up inspection on March 11 and no violations were found. The convenience store is currently listed as in compliance.

• Johnny’s Tavern North Lawrence, 401 N. Second St., last had a follow-up inspection on March 11 and one violation was found. The restaurant is currently listed as in compliance.

• Subway, 810 Ames St., Baldwin City, last had a follow-up inspection on March 4 and no violations were found. The restaurant is currently listed as in compliance.

• Lawrence Beer Company, 826 Pennsylvania St., last had a follow-up inspection on March 6 and no violations were found. The restaurant and brewery is currently listed as in compliance.

Some other businesses found out of compliance in February have not yet received follow-up inspections: Baan Thai Restaurant, 741 Massachusetts St.; Arby’s, 4671 W. Sixth St.; Yankee Tank Brewing, 807 23rd St., Ste. J; and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, 1115 Massachusetts St.


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