For the second time this year Mayor Daley's Dumpster Task Force has closed a combination Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts & Togo's Eatery at 801 W. Diversey Pkwy., because of heavy flying insect infestation and poor housekeeping. This establishment was closed for nearly identical conditions on March 14, 2005, and despite a management change still attracted the same type of pestilence....fruit flies.
The Task Force stopped counting fruit flies at approximately 120 when one tried to fly up an inspector's nose. In addition to that sensitive location, fruit flies were also spotted on and around dishes, towels and utensils, in the food prep and selling areas, in the cake storage area, on the cake decorating table and , of course, on the proverbial wall. And because there was no physical separation of the three restaurants from each other, the flies were free to wing it without restriction. Inspectors also found that the dumpsters were encrusted with grease and grime and that a wave of fruit flies flew out when the lids were thrown back.
This establishment was promptly closed after being issued a critical citation for inadequate pest control and a serious citation for improperly maintained dumpsters. Management will have to demonstrate to the Task Force that they have corrected all problems and pass a detailed reinspection before they will be allowed to reopen.
"You wouldn't want your family eating at a place with these conditions and that's why our inspectors won't hesitate to close such an establishment," said Streets & Sanitation Commissioner Michael J. Picardi. "Management has a responsibility to their customers to keep their facilities safe and clean and this business really let them down."
The Dumpster Task Force was created in 1994 to aid sanitation code enforcement by targeting overflowing dumpsters which attract and sustain rats. If inspectors find that an establishment puts its customers at risk of receiving contaminated food because of interior sanitation problems such as a fruit fly infestation, they will be closed ASAP. |
