Restaurant Inspections: Virginia Gateway Restaurants Cited by Health District

The Prince William Health District recently inspected two restaurants located at the Virginia Gateway Shopping Center in Gainesville: Mimi's Cafe and Chili's.

Mimi's Cafe, located at 5005 Wellington Road in Gainesville, received one critical violation and ten noncritical violations during a routine inspection.

According to the Health District report, the Sept. 10 critical violation included:

Critical: Pump-spray containers of cleaning products not labeled.

The non-critical violations included:

• There were no thermometers in the drawer coolers.
• Repeat: Inadequate storage units in walk-in cooler. Food stored on the floor.
• Repeat: Low water flow rate at cook's dipper well.
• Single-service cups in small beverage station area not furnished in original wrapper intact or from and approved dispenser.
• Repeat Digital thermometers broken in prep/work-top coolers in cooking line and walk-in cooler.
• Paper cup being used as an ice scoop in the small beverage station area.
• Bad leak in 3-vat sink drain line.
• Repeat Cook's dipper well spout not secured to counter.
• Dead lamp in employee restroom.
• Less than 20 foot candles of light was noted in the wait staff order pick-up area and beverage station. Measured 8-16 foot-candles of light.

Chili's, located at 4995 Wellington Hall Road in Gainesville, received seven noncritical violations during a routine inspection Sept. 9.

The non-critical violations included:

• (Corrected During Inspection) Improper food thawing method used.
• Frost/ice on boxes of food in walk-in freezer.
• Heavy accumulation of ice/frost on walk-in freezer door/frame/floor. Unable to close walk-in freezer door.
• Heavy frost on walk-in freezer shelves.
• Repeat: Mop sink water line to the hose with the spray nozzle lacks an approved back-flow prevention (BFP) valve.
• Heavy accumulation of frost/ice on walk-in freezer floor.
• Repeat: Inadequate lighting at bar handsink and 3-vat sink.

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“Restaurant inspections are normally scheduled for one to four inspections per year, depending on the complexity of the menu, how much food is made from raw products, and how much is made in advance rather than cooked-to-order,” the agency states on their website.

When inspectors observe violations during a routine inspection, they are detailed in a report and classified as either critical (posing a direct or immediate threat to consumers) or non-critical (a failure of cleaning or maintenance), they said.

These inspections are considered by the Health District as a snapshot of a specific day of operation.

According to the agency, “Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations.”