The Jefferson County Health Department has temporarily shut down the Sonic Drive-In, 12862 Hwy. 21, in De Soto after reportedly finding evidence of a roach infestation on Tuesday, March 11.
Brianne Zwiener, Health Department spokesperson, said a video showing roaches in an ice cream machine was sent to the agency through its social media and was posted on a public social media page on Tuesday. After staff watched the video, two food inspectors immediately went to the restaurant to conduct a “filed visit.”
According to the field visit report, the inspectors found roaches in all life stages in a panel on the ice cream machine and in a panel on a prep table next to the ice cream machine. Evidence of roaches were found behind a wall sign in front of a soda machine. Roach bodies and evidence of nests were located in several side and back panels on other equipment. In addition, the inspectors witnessed roaches crawling on floors and walls.
Health Department administrators made the decision to close the restaurant, which must meet several conditions before reopening, Zwiener said.
She said the Health Department has been in contact with the Sonic area supervisor who has been helpful and presumably is working to correct the issues. Inspectors will return to the restaurant on Friday, March 14, to see how much progress has been made.
Zwiener said it is possible the restaurant could reopen as early as Friday if corrections have been completed to the department’s satisfaction.
The restaurant manager would not comment about the closure, and the Leader attempted to contact the area supervisor with 24 Franchise Group, which owns the Sonic store, but the supervisor didn’t immediately respond.
Conditions for reopening
The first condition to reopen requires restaurant management to remove the ice cream machine and prep table from the facility.
“Due to the level of cleaning required and measure of infestation, these items of equipment must be replaced,” the report states. “These items cannot be effectively cleaned and sanitized; nor properly treated for roach infestation.”
The restaurant management also must contact Orkin for emergency treatment; clean and sanitize all equipment inside and out, including gaskets; clean and sanitize all walls and floors; remove all access panels from large equipment and clean/sanitize all compartments; clean all floor drains and provide drain covers; close gap at bottom of exterior door to prevent entry by insects and pests; clean all wire shelving with bleach water solution; and remove access panels from ice machine and clean inside.
The report further states that all food not in airtight containers and all food in roll-top prep tables, as well as wall hangings and posters, must be discarded. The soda machine should be taken apart, cleaned and sanitized, according to condition.
The report recommends but does not require bringing in a third-party professional kitchen-cleaning company.
Prior health inspections
On Jan. 15, the Health Department completed a routine inspection of Sonic, and the restaurant scored 44 out of 100, according to the agency’s inspection reports.
Zwiener said the restaurant was given several conditions it had to complete within a certain amount of time. Upon reinspection on Feb. 11, the inspector found that all the conditions had been satisfied, with the exception of a gap under a door that needed fixed.
She said food establishment health inspection scores on the Health Department’s website shows that Sonic scored a 99 on the reinspection, but that is not accurate. It is a software glitch that is being looked at.
She said the agency does not give scores on reinspections, so technically the latest score for the business is still 44.
“We just go out there to make sure they have done what was asked in the timeline,” she said of the reinspection process.
Zwiener said roach infestations are uncommon in Jefferson County restaurants, adding that the department has food codes, guidelines and requirements to prevent and protect against that problem. She said the safety of customers and staff members is important to the Health Department.
While food inspectors have a thorough list of items to check during a routine inspection, Zwiener said they do not tear apart kitchens or take machines apart. She indicated that excrement, live roaches and evidence of a nest give inspectors hints of a problem, and then reinspections are scheduled to make sure any problem is taken care of.
Closing a food establishment is rare for the agency, Zwiener said.
“We do what we can to not get to this point,” she said. “This is usually a very rare circumstance. I can’t remember the last time we had to close a place.”
Dan Kane, environmental supervisor for the Health Department, also has said the department rarely closes a food establishment, and most temporary closures involve a power outage, fire or sewage backup.
Scoring system/QR codes
The Jefferson County Health Department recently implemented a new scoring system for its inspections of food establishments. Those scores, as well as the inspection reports, are available online. In addition, QR codes are being posted at food establishments in the county to allow customers convenient access to recent inspection reports.
This month, the Leader began providing summaries of health inspections conducted the prior week.
According to the Jefferson County Health Department, facilities start with a score of 100, and points are reduced based on observed violations:
■ Six points are deducted for priority violations that directly contribute to foodborne illness risk.
■ Three points are deducted for priority foundation violations that indirectly contribute to foodborne illness risk or enable priority violations.
■ One point for core violations related to general sanitation and good retail practices.
■ Two points for repeat violations of any type.
Kane said the agency does not have ranges for good or bad scores but instead looks at the overall score, adding that readers need to look at the types of violations.
He said a couple of priority violations are more concerning than several core violations.
In certain cases, the Health Department returns to a food establishment to reinspect, allowing time for the facility to correct issues. According to the Health Department, reinspection is not solely based on the score an establishment gets; it’s determined by the type of violation. Priority and priority foundation violations need to be corrected within a certain amount of time, and priority violations typically are corrected on the day of the inspection before the inspector leaves.
To see the most updated inspection report or the last three inspection reports, visit jeffcohealth.org/environmental and click on “View Food Establishment Health Inspection Scores.”
