Chipotle near Columbia University closed by NYC department of health

Chipotle and Whole Foods both have a track record of bad food safety and BS public relations.

chipotle.ad.2Sure I’d indulge my pregnant wife six years ago in Kansas and go on late night Chipotle runs – because it was close and I wasn’t pregnant, she was – but I’d never eat there.

Those companies sure know how to extract a buck.

The New York City Health Department closed the Chipotle at Broadway and West 111th Street this week, with the fast-food outpost not expected to open again until Friday, staff said.

The department slapped the eatery with violations for improper refrigeration and evidence of flies, after inspectors visited the restaurant Monday to find its walk-in refrigerator had broken down that same day, employees and DOH officials said.

A staffer, who declined to give her name, said she didn’t expect it to be up and running again until Friday. 

chipotle.ge.bsThe Health Department found cold food being stored above the required 41 degrees, insufficient refrigeration equipment and no means of evaluating the temperature of foods during “cooking, cooling, reheating and holding,” according to its report. 

It also found evidence of flies in the food and “non-food areas,” and that the facility was not sufficiently vermin-proof. 

Food was also found to be “adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded [properly],” the department said.

Chipotle must pass a second inspection in order to reopen, and a health department spokesman could not immediately say when it was scheduled. 

This entry was posted in Restaurant Inspection and tagged , , by Douglas Powell. Bookmark the permalink.

About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time