St. Cloud restaurant inspectoins: Experience, education can make the difference

St. Cloud restaurant inspectoins: Experience, education can make the difference
By Kari Petrie • kpetrie@stcloudtimes.com • April 18, 2010

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employees at her namesake restaurant know everything better be in tiptop shape.

Her daughter Julie Bichler, who now owns Brigitte’s Cafe with her two brothers, says Schneider is a tougher critic than the health inspector. Her high standard of cleanliness is ingrained in a staff that has worked at the restaurant for decades.

“When Mother comes home, they really get cleaning,” Bichler said.

The staff at Brigitte’s prepares most of the food from scratch, making soups and roasting beef in their kitchen. St. Cloud Environmental Health Specialist Jim Schloegl said the cafe is one of the best in the city for keeping its food safe and restaurant clean.

“Their staff has been there a long time and a large number of their staff is family, so they have a lot more invested,” he said.

Schloegl is in charge of restaurant inspections for St. Cloud. Each year the St. Cloud Health & Inspections Department checks out dozens of conditions and procedures at more than 500 establishments, including restaurants, pools and lodging businesses.


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St. Cloud restaurant inspections
Inspection reports from 2009.



Restaurant name AllAce Bar and GrillApplebee's Grill & BarArby's Restaurant #5575Asian HouseBarnes & Noble BooksellersBo Diddley's DeliBo Diddley's DowntownBonanza Steak HouseBook-em's BarBrigitte's CafeBuffalo Wild Wings Grill & BarByerly's Inc.Cafe NazionaceChina RestaurantCoborn's Superstore #2035Coborns's Centennial PlazaCold Stone CreameryCookie AdvantageCopper LanternCub Foods EastD. B. SearlesDairy QueenDominos PizzaDucks Pub & BilliardsEnergy Blend of St. CloudFair Trade CafeFive Guys Burgers and FriesGranite Bowl - 12 X S INCGranite Bowl SouthGranite City Food & BreweryGreat Dragon BuffetGreat Wall BuffetGreen Mill RestaurantGrizzly's RestaurantGround Round RestaurantHemsing's Deli & BakeryHissho Sushi @ Byerly'sHong Kong RestaurantHormud Daily Food RestaurantHouse of PizzaHowie's Bar & GrillING DIRECT Cafe'JK Flyers CafeJules BistroKhanh ExpressKentucky Fried ChickenLincoln DepotM.C.'s DugoutM.T.'s on 8th Bar & GrillMcCanns Food and BrewMcDonald's #5787McDonald's #6060McDonald's at McStopMcRudy's PubMeeting Grounds Coffee ShopMexican Village RestaurantMexican Village TooMi Famigilia RestaurantMichael's Steak & SeafoodMike's Deli ExpressMilio's SandwichesMinnesota Halal Meat & GroceryMogadishu Grocery & MeatMr. TwistyMunicipal Athletic ComplexNajax CafeNoodles & CompanyNorth Village Ashland MarketNorthwoods Candy EmporiumOld ChicagoPacific Wok Teriyaki GrillPanchero's Mexican GrillPanda Chinese RestaurantPanera Bread #1317Papa John'sPerkins RestaurantPizza Hut #13784Pok's Sakura Japanese RestauraPress Bar & CafePretzelmakerQdoba Mexican RestaurantRed CarpetRed Lobster Restaurant #493Rox Bar/Tavern on GermainSam's Club #8183Sawatdee Thai RestaurantShooter's SaloonShort Stop WestSodexo - Pizza Hut - SCSUSodexo - Wow Wingery - SCSUSodexo Einstein Bagels - SCSUSodexo FS - Atwood CenterSodexo FS - Burger KingSodexo- Quick Zone & FreshensSomali CafeSt Cloud Civic CenterSt Cloud Eagles ClubSubway - Wal MartSubway CentralTaco Bell #016822Taco Bell #4907Taco JohnsTGI Friday'sThe Chinese Phoenix ExpressThe New Bravo BurritosThe White HorseVal's Rapid ServVeranda LoungeVFW Post 428VFW Post 4847Viet Tien RestaurantWendy's Old Fashion HamburgersWhitney Ball Park ConcessionWhitney Rec.Center ConcessionsWhitney Senior Center

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The St. Cloud Times reviewed records for St. Cloud restaurant inspections conducted in 2009. A majority of those inspections turned up one or no critical violations.

A violation is considered critical if it is poses a higher risk of leading to food contamination or illness. Such violations include improper hand washing or refrigerators that don’t keep food cold enough.

Six restaurants had four or more critical violations. Most critical violations dealt with keeping meat and vegetables separated while in storage, properly sanitizing cooking surfaces and equipment and making sure the business had a certified food manager.

Noncritical violations are generally less serious and often relate to the physical condition of the building.

State law dictates how often inspections are done based on the risk level a restaurant is assigned. Risk levels are based on what types of food are served, what cooking processes take place on site and how long foods are kept once prepared. High-risk restaurants are inspected once a year, medium-risk restaurants are inspected once every 18 months and low-risk restaurants are inspected once every two years.

Culture of clean

Schloegl said Red Lobster also does a good job of keeping its food fresh and preparing it well, especially since seafood is key to the menu.

“That puts them into whole other realm,” he said. “If someone doesn’t do it well, people will get ill.”

Red Lobster General Manager Troy Turney said the restaurant has a culture of keeping things clean. The business has developed a routine and staff follow the systems.

“They have a commitment to it,” he said.

Whether a customer comes in at 11 a.m. or 4 p.m., they should have the same experience, Turney said.

When inspections take place, a staff member walks around with Schloegl to see what the issues are, Red Lobster Total Quality Manager Mandy Sedlak said. Anything that can be fixed immediately is, she said.

The restaurant will follow up with a letter to Schloegl, outlining changes that were made.

“They have the same goals as we do,” Sedlak said.

Bichler of Brigitte’s said having staff who have been around for decades helps. In addition to contributing a homey atmosphere, they feel personally invested in the restaurant, she said.

“These people have been with us forever and know what has to be done,” she said.

Any time an inspection has uncovered an area of concern, Bichler said, the department has been good to work with in getting them resolved. Brigitte’s is presented with a tougher inspection challenge because it’s in an older building, which requires more upkeep and monitoring of older equipment.

“It’s keeping up with it every day,” Bichler said.

The economy has caused a slip in the upkeep at some restaurants, Schloegl said. Operators of some restaurants try to keep food longer or cut staff hours so less cleaning is being done, he said.

Health Director Lisa Schreifels said she expected to see more restaurants close because of the economy.

“We haven’t seen that,” she said.

Education

Education is an important part of the inspection process, Schreifels said. Inspectors spend time educating restaurant owners about expectations and good food-handling practices.

When an inspector goes into a business, he or she asks about how food is prepared or how the business deals with employee illnesses. The inspection is an interactive process, Schreifels said.

That helps develop trust between inspectors and owners so they are more likely to call the city with questions. Schloegl said he works to make sure restaurants are fixing problems found during inspections and issues don’t become ongoing problems.

“Follow-up is the name of the game,” he said.

The department works closely with people looking to open new restaurants. How smoothly that first inspection goes can depend on how much experience that owner has. New owners who have spent their careers working in food service have a better understanding of what needs to be done, Schreifels said.

“If they have that (experience), that’s extremely helpful,” she said.

Someone entering the business for the first time doesn’t always fully understand the amount of cleaning that has to take place in a kitchen.

“Someone new to food service operations, they’re going to struggle more,” she said.

The education piece becomes especially important when working with immigrant populations.

Several of the St. Cloud restaurants with the most critical violations last year are operated by people who don’t speak English as their first language.

Dave Siegel, executive vice president of the Minnesota Restaurant Association, said such owners learned different ways to operate in their country of origin.

“Now they’re coming here and they have to change the way they do business, and that’s sometimes difficult,” he said.

But Schloegl said he still does education along with the inspections. If there is a language barrier, he sometimes demonstrates how to do things like wash dishes in the three-compartment sink. Sometimes an owner will ask another employee who is more fluent in English, or a trusted customer, to help, he said.

Siegel’s association teaches food safety classes in English, Spanish and occasionally Asian languages. But the classes aren’t available in every language, he said.

Somali Cafe owner Abdi Abukar had six critical violations during an inspection in July. During a follow-up inspection in August, he had just one critical violation, for not timing how long prepared food was allowed to sit out before throwing it out.

Abukar said he has made several renovations to his restaurant that will make it easier to maintain cleanliness, such as new countertops. One section of the cafe is closed for additional renovations.

After the work is done, he said he wants to work to expand his business and get more people coming into his restaurant.

“I am careful and do more cleaning,” he said.

Times staff writer Kirsti Marohn contributed to this report.