A Tex-Mex restaurant on Franklin’s north side that was ordered to close by the county’s health department served food multiple times without permission to reopen.
On July 16, the Johnson County Health Department ordered that Moe’s Southwest Grill, 2151 N. Morton St., close for cleaning after an inspection showed that they had not fixed a plumbing issue and the cleanliness of the restaurant had not met health department standards, said Betsy Swearingen, Johnson County Health Department director.
The Moe’s in Franklin is a franchise fast-food restaurant which serves burritos, nachos, quesadillas, burrito bowls and tacos. The owner could not be reached for comment.
The health department has since allowed the restaurant to re-open.
The closure on July 16 came a month after the health department had issued the restaurant a warning and a $50 fine on two other inspections within a month.
The inspector ordered that the restaurant be closed so they could conduct a thorough cleaning and fix a leak on their hot water supply line. On July 17, inspectors went to the restaurant and discovered that food was being served, even after the closing notice from the department, Swearingen said.
Health inspectors typically reinspect a restaurant that has been closed before it can serve food again. Moe’s had not been reinspected, she said.
Some cleaning had taken place between the closing and finding that the restaurant had served food without a reinspection. But the restaurant was not ready to reopen, and the hot water had been shut off, Swearingen said.
Inspectors ordered that the restaurant remain closed and that employees lock the door behind the inspectors. Within an hour, the restaurant was serving food again without permission, she said.
The inspectors walked the owners through what cleaning needed to be done that would allow them to reopen. The restaurant was allowed to reopen later on July 17.
The restaurant was closed due to plumbing and cleanliness issues. Food handling issues were not the reason for the closure, she said.
“It is what we refer to as a detailed cleaning schedule, and their routine schedule was just not up to par,” Swearingen said.
The health department could have issued the restaurant a fine of up to $500 for reopening without permission. However, inspectors chose to work with the restaurant to make sure they could reopen, Swearingen said.
“We just want to help them run their facility the best way we can,” she said.
The health department tries to work with restaurants as opposed to fining them to avoid being a financial burden on local establishments, Swearingen said.
“We don’t try to be a financial hardship to our restaurants. We just want to protect public health. We are not out to get them monetarily. We are just out to protect the community,” she said.
The mid-July issues at Moe’s had been ongoing for about a month, according to reports from the Johnson County Health Department.
The restaurant was scheduled for a routine inspection on June 19. They were given a warning then for not keeping internal food temperatures at the proper temperature, not having a certified food handler on site, and for the floor, wall and equipment not being clean, according to a health inspection report.
A follow-up inspection conducted on June 24 resulted in a $50 fine. The fine was levied due to plumbing issues and dirty equipment and containers.
Another follow-up inspection on July 16 found that the plumbing and cleanliness issues had not been addressed, which is when the health department ordered the restaurant to close its doors until it was up to standard.
The restaurant will be inspected again soon, Swearingen said Wednesday.
