Here's where in Topeka failed restaurant food safety and lodging inspections in April

Kansas food safety and lodging inspectors found several Topeka establishments to be out of compliance with state law in April.

Kansas law delegates to the Kansas Department of Agriculture the authority to regulate food establishments, food processing plants and lodging establishments. Violations — particularly priority violations linked to causes of foodborne illness — can lead to various consequences, including the immediate closure of an establishment.

Kansas Department of Agriculture records show that while most Topeka service establishments passed inspections in April with either no violations or no serious ones, several failed. Most inspections were routine, but inspectors also visited after complaints, for licensing, follow-ups and other reasons.

Out-of-compliance food establishments in Topeka

The following establishments were listed as out of compliance with state law after inspections in April.

• Coffee Head, 3101 S.W. 29th St., Suite B.

The April 30 routine inspection found six violations.

Quiche, breakfast burritos and dairy whip were missing date marks. Not all pre-packaged foods had lists of allergens. Paper towels for a hand sink were not in an easily accessible spot. Pre-packaged foods did not have individual labels or an information card, and the foods did not have the name and place of the business.

The establishment was back in compliance after a May 10 follow-up inspection.

The inspector wrote in that report that "the Breakfast Burritos and the Quiche is made from private vender without the proper licensing." A meat and poultry license would be needed in order to sell the items because the burritos contain sausage, potatoes, eggs and cheese. The person in charge removed all burritos and quiche from the establishment and took them off the menu.

• Los Charros, 738 S.W. Gage Blvd.

The April 30 routine inspection found five violations.

Raw eggs were being stored above mayonnaise and minced garlic, which is a cross contamination risk. Refried beans were not reheated to a high enough temperature. The hot water was not hot enough for the dish washing machine or the ware washing sink.

A follow-up inspection date was not listed.

• IHOP, 551 N.W. Highway 24.

The April 25 joint inspection found four violations.

The inspector observed an employee mop the floor, then crack raw eggs, then touch handles for pancake batter and a spatula, then use the same glove to grab a plate for service while placing their thumb on food — all without washing their hands or changing gloves between tasks.

Lettuce in the refrigerator was not kept cold enough. A pancake batter container had a cut in the corner. The bathroom sinks did not have hot water, and one sink was out of order.

A follow-up inspection was tentatively scheduled for May 9.

• Seaman 66, 4206 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

The April 25 routine inspection found one violation.

There were no paper towels at handwashing sinks for customers or in the kitchen.

A follow-up inspection date was not listed.

• La Casita Mexican Restaurant, 3032 S.E. Sixth Ave.

The April 24 routine inspection found five violations.

The refrigerated food prep table had lettuce, sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and chili sauce that weren't cool enough. A refrigeration unit had cooked chicken without a date mark.

The mop sink was missing an AVB cap. A spray bottle was unlabeled, and it contained insecticide not approved for food establishments. Another unlabeled spray bottle had glass cleaner.

A follow-up inspection was tentatively scheduled for May 13.

• Love's Travel Stop/Subway, 1811 N.W. Brickyard Road.

The April 23 joint inspection found two violations.

The kitchen behind Subway, Godfather's Pizza and Chester's had mold in the ice machine chute. The end of the mop sink's hose was below the flood rim and above the AVB leaks.

A follow-up inspection was tentatively scheduled for May 9.

• McDonald's, 1100 S. Kansas Ave.

The April 16 complaint inspection found one violation.

Storage rooms had fresh rodent droppings, as did the area around a soda fountain, where a "live rodent was observed under the fountain machine counter when opening the cabinet door ... it was running on the metal framing."

The person in charge said that pest control had been coming out three times a month. The last pest control visit was the same day as the inspection, but pest control reported no findings. Pest control also reported no findings in their last visit before that, on March 20.

The establishment was back in compliance after an April 26 follow-up inspection.

During that follow-up, the inspector wrote that "there has been word that the possible rodent issue is coming from the City of Topeka water tower directly behind the facility."

• Over the Top Sandwich and Deli, 1850 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

The April 9 first operational inspection after licensing found six violations.

The meat slicer was not cleaned after the previous day. The kitchen hand sink was disconnected and a sink lacked paper towels. A spray bottle was not labeled. A Clorox bottle was stored on a rack pointing at a green bell pepper, another Clorox bottle on a table was above biscuits, a bottle of bathroom cleaner was on a counter pointed at clean dishes and wrapping papers for sandwiches.

The establishment was back in compliance after an April 19 follow-up inspection.

• Econo Lodge, 1518 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

The April 8 complaint inspection found 14 violations.

Six of 57 total rooms were inspected, finding no paper towels in the laundry room, a lack of testing and test records for some carbon monoxide detectors, no emergency management plan, a nonfunctioning emergency light, a buildup of hair and debris, urine on a toilet, stained linens and other bedding, dirty refrigerators and microwaves, unlabeled spray bottles, electric outlets near water that weren't GFCIs and that ice buckets were not being sanitized after each guest.

The lodging establishment was back in compliance after an April 29 follow-up inspection.

• Ling's Cafe, 2024 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

The April 4 complaint inspection found eight violations.

Raw salmon and beef were stored above cooked chicken and pork. The cold make table by the hibachi grill was not keeping meat and eggs cool enough. Rice at the hibachi grill was not marked with a time stamp. Fresh and old mouse droppings were along the walls under platforms holding bags of rice. A handwashing sink for the dish washers had no paper towels.

The building had no hot water, and the restaurant voluntarily closed.

The establishment was back in compliance after an April 8 reopening inspection.

• Valero 1 Stop, 706 S.W. Fairlawn Road.

The April 3 licensing-operational inspection found five violations.

Pizzas that were supposed to be kept frozen until cooked had thawed out. Pepperoni pizza in a holding case did not have a time stamp. There were no food thermometers. The kitchen hand sink had no flowing water, and workers were preparing pizzas despite not having a working hand sink.

The establishment was back in compliance after an April 4 follow-up inspection.

Inspections found these Topeka establishments were in compliance

The following service establishments were in compliance when inspectors visited in April with either no violations or only relatively minor ones.

• Arab Shrine, 1305 S. Kansas Ave.

• Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, 1925 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Spin! Pizza, 2811 S.W. Fairlawn Road, Suite A.

• Target Distribution Center, 1100 S.W. 57th St.

• Engroff Catering, 2127 S.W. Westport Drive.

• Goodcents Deli Fresh Subs, 4210 21st St.

• Hanna Distributing LLC (Lil Debbies-Frontier Storage), 3245 N.W. 54th St., units 38, 47 and 55.

• The Steam Engine, 5660 S.W. 29th St.

• Blue Cross/Blue Shield Cafe, 1133 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

• Meat Market Camecuaro LLC, 1016 S.E. Sixth Ave.

• Pizza Hut, 2310 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

• Sweet Tee, 2841 S.E. Croco Road, Suite 300.

• DJ's Diner, 4140 S.W. Huntoon St.

• Herman's Meat & Smokehouse, 4211 S.W. Huntoon St.

• Mongo Q, 3429 S.E. Shorewood Drive.

• Poppin Squeeze LLC (Lil' Red), 6105 S.E. Shawnee Drive in Berryton.

• Wendy's, 2025 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

• The Dock, 2838 S.E. 29th St.

• El Zocalo, 4100 S.W. 35th Terrace.

• Farley Elementary School, 6701 S.W. 33rd St.

• McDonald's, 2880 S.E. California Ave.

• Panera Bread, 1421 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• The Smoothie & Pretzel Co., 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Stumpy's Smoked Cheese, 2104 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

• Tailgators Sports Pub & Grub, 2025 Urish Road, Suite 108.

• Tacos Leon, 1805 S.E. 23rd St.

• Eddies BBQ, 1520 S.W. 69th Terrace.

• Conoco Food & Tobacco, 2045 Kansas Ave.

• Hardee's, 2424 W. Sixth St.

• Red Robin, 6230 S.W. Sixth St.

• CVS/Pharmacy, 2835 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Dollar Tree, 2600 S.E. California Ave.

• Fairfield Inn, 1530 S.W. Westport Drive.

• Guckenheimer at Mars, 100 Mars Blvd.

• Kicks 66, 3300 S.W. Gage Blvd.

• Scooter's Coffee, 3830 S.W. 29th St.

• Sommerset Cafe & Catering, 5701 S.W. Douglas Road.

• Tequilas Mexican Restaurant & Bar, 520 N.W. Elm Row Ave.

• TT Asian Grocery, 2831 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Dollar General Store, 4500 S.E. California Ave.

• Mater Dei School, 934 S.W. Clay St.

• Mexican Taco Shop, 3703 S.W. Burlingame Road, Suite 600.

• Residence Inn, 1620 S.W. Westport Drive.

• Tecumseh North Elementary School, 314 S.E. Stanton Road in Tecumseh.

• Walgreens, 1001 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

• Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant, 417 37th St.

• BP Gas Station-Amoco Oak Mart, 2518 N.E. Seward Ave.

• El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant, 2800 S.W. Fairlawn Road.

• Mark Miller, 809 S.W. Macvicar Ave.

• Ramada Hotel, 420 S.E. Sixth St.

• Soulfire Nutrition, 2907 S.W. 29th St.

• Tacos El Mexicano, 2002 S.E. California Ave.

• Walgreens, 3696 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

• Alpha Phi Sorority, 1839 S.W. Jewell Ave.

• Chartwells Dining Service at Memorial Union, 1700 College Drive.

• Crumbl Cookies, 2130 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite 160.

• Dirty Dough, 2727 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite 110.

• Kwik Shop, 3706 S.W. Burlingame Road.

• Silver Lake Elementary School, 200 Rice Road in Silver Lake.

• Silver Lake Junior/Senior High School, 200 Rice Road in Silver Lake.

• Old Dominion wreck, 3508 S.E. 21st St.

• The Southern Star Cafe, 905 S.W. Naismith Place.

• Stumpy's Smoked Cheese, 1605 N.W. 50th St.

• Blackbrid Espresso Bar & Bistro, 4025 10th Ave.

• Jong's Thai Kitchen, 800 S.W. 12th St., unit 4.

• Walgreens, 1001 S.W. Gage Blvd.

• Cair Paravel Latin School, 635 Clay St.

• Elmont School, 6432 N.W. Elmont Road.

• Golden Dragon, 1101 S. Kansas Ave.

• Haag Express, 1001 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite B.

• Sodexo - Security Benefit cafe, 1 S.W. Security Benefit Place.

• Sheridan's Frozen Custard, 5937 S.W. 29th St.

• Starbucks Coffee, 563 N.W. US-24 highway.

• Taco Bell, 1560 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Glory Day's Pizza, 1033 S.W. Gage Blvd.

• Milk & Honey Coffee Co., 2200 S.E. 29th St.

• North Fairview Elementary School, 1941 N.E. 39th St.

• Quincy Elementary School, 1500 N.E. Quincy.

• Topeka Education Center, 1900 S.W. Hope St.

• West Indianola Elementary School, 4201 N.W. Brickyard Road.

• Wok & Grill, 400 S.W. 29th St., Suite U.

• Chase Middle School/State Street Elementary, 2250 N.E. State St.

• Quality Inn, 1240 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Flavor Wagon, 1112 S.E. 30th St.

• Emma's Pupusas and Mexican Food, 122 S.E. 40th St.

• White Lakes 66, 931 S.W. 37th St.

• Auburn Max's BP, 841 N. Washington in Auburn.

• Chick-fil-A, 1625 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Fuel Expresso, 506 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

• Hayden High School, S.W. 401 Gage Blvd.

• Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company, 1625 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Indian Hills Elementary School, 7445 S.W. 29th St..

• Linde Gas & Equipment Inc., 1435 N.W. Moundview Drive.

• Magic Meals Home Delivery, 6722 S.W. Urish Road in Auburn.

• Matheson Tri-Gas Inc., 100 Madison St.

• McEachron Elementary School, 4433 W. 29th Terrace.

• Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, 5836 S.W. 21st St.

• Pizza Hut, 500 S.W. 10th Ave.

• Glory Days Pizza, 3310 29th St., Suite 600.

• Jardine Middle School/Jardine Elementary School, 2600 S.W. 33rd St.

• Jimmy John's, 2007 N.W. Topeka Blvd., Suite B.

• Landon Middle School, 731 Fairlawn Road.

• Tacos El Guitarron, 1234 California Ave.

• Tallgrass Special Purpose School, 5740 S.W. 61st St.

• Wanamaker Elementary School, 6630 S.W. 10th Ave.

• IHOP, 1731 S.W. Wanamaker Road.

• Ross Elementary, 1400 E. 34th St.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas food safety and lodging inspectors cite 11 violators in Topeka