09.aug.08
abc
Joce Sterman
http://www.abc2news.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=bf9781b5-81b9-4d49-a58c-be64936758c0
It's a restaurant that?s reached a record for our Dirty Dining series, the most closures of any restaurant we've covered in the series so far. ABC2 News Investigator tells us which dining spot gets the honor and why.
People who work near the Popeyes on Baltimore National Pike in Catonsville know the restaurant has had its share of problems. Tom Olszewski says, "I'm here every day. I see when they're closed. I see the signs on the door." But we wanted everyone to know what?s been happening in this place.
That?s why we?re showing you their restaurant inspection reports. They show this restaurant has been shut down by health inspectors four times in the last two and a half years. We're going neighborhood by neighborhood, looking at places with the biggest number of violations and the consistent patterns we've seen in reports dating back to 2006.
And one thing we've seen again and again in the paperwork is that this Popeyes stinks. Olszewski tells us, "It just has a very foul odor when you walk in there, like stale chicken grease. I?m guessing that's what it is."
That smell has been a problem for years, with mentions of a foul odor from stagnant water and grease seen in their files dating back to 2006. But reports show that's the least of the problems for a place where inspectors say ?sanitation is poor?. The paperwork for this Popeyes points out the restaurant has also been cited for not protecting its food from contamination in four different inspections.
That?s a critical violation that played a role in the county shutting down this Popeyes once in 2006, once in 2007 and twice in just the last three months. As for what was causing the potential contamination?? Mice, which inspectors say left evidence in the food prep areas, the front line, the shelving and even under the oven where they cook your chicken.
We visited the Popeyes and asked to speak to the manager but he told us we had to contact the Director of Operations for the company. His speech was familiar to us. We heard the same line a few months ago as we exposed similar problems at three other Popeyes locations in Baltimore city. We showed you their files as we uncovered all three had been closed at least twice by the city's health department.
All the Popeyes we?ve mentioned are owned by the same company, Delaware Food Ventures. Their office is listed as an address in Locust Point. We visited their office and were told the Director of Operations, Chuck Ayers, was not available. We went back again after going through the inspection files for 11 of the company's Popeyes franchises in the Baltimore area.
According to the reports, there have been 17 closures within those 11 restaurants since the start of 2006. On an additional visit, we were again told Ayers was not available. Phone calls to him asking for comment were not returned.