It was a lazy Tuesday afternoon in Glover Park and Olivia was at the podium to greet the lunch crowd. She looked around – only two tables taken and no one on the sidewalk outside, so she went back to her texts and attempted to blow a bubble with the Wrigley’s spearmint. Suddenly, she heard the door swing, and as she looked up she saw two tall and stern men with trench coats in different shades of beige. Both had their collars raised to their ears. These two did not look like her regular lunch patrons, she thought. Both reached into their coat pockets as Olivia put her left foot back and tensed. Each man extended an arm and flipped open a worn brownish leather wallet with a badge behind clear plastic. The taller and more serious-looking one said, “DC Health Department inspection. I’m Agent Johnson, and this is my partner Special Agent Johnson. Keep your hands at your side. Show us your kitchen.” Olivia glanced towards the back of the restaurant and momentarily pondered running for the alley, then thought better of it. She meekly smiled and raised her index finger to indicate ‘one moment’ and picked up the phone, hoping her manager Nick wasn’t out back for a smoke.
The DC Health Department’s Division of Food does important work inspecting all food establishments for the safety of patrons. These establishments include not only restaurants, but also schools, grocery stores, and retail stores with food and beverage sections. The inspections include: certifying newly opened establishments, license renewal, routine unannounced visits, complaint investigations (unannounced) and follow-ups from prior noted violations. Inspectors will rate the seriousness of each violation in terms of the risk to customer health, and provide notice for either a 5-day or 14-day correction, or suspend operations at the time of the inspection for an immediate health concern. DC does not give ratings, like say NYC, but only pass/fail with a correction follow-up deadline if needed.
Below is a list of all health department inspection reports for Glover Park food establishments in 2022. The neighborhood gets pretty good reports relative to other areas. Most of the written violations tend to sound more serious than they actually are, and many are corrected at the time of the inspection, so that follow-up visits are not necessary. Evidence of vermin, cold food stored above a safe temperature and potential cross contamination are more serious violations to take note of and ensure correction with a follow up. It is almost impossible for a food establishment in DC to get a completely clear unannounced inspection, yet one restaurant achieved this in Glover Park in 2022 – Chipotle! Surprising considering the volume of business they do and the amount of fresh food out on display, but they succeeded and take the prize for the only clear routine inspection. Shame on DCPS and their contractor SodexoMagic for 5 of 6 inspections revealing mice droppings at Stoddert Elementary School and Hardy Middle School. Stoddert was written up three times over the span of only one month, with no further inspection since April. Sodexo is Magic Johnson’s company which claims to provide “best in class food and facilities management to K-12 schools.”
I feel safer knowing that the DC Health Department has worked hard in 2022 and that they enforce the rules strictly. That said, the schools should be treated like any other food establishment in the inspection process and DCPS needs to correct their vermin problems. So make that reservation in Glover Park with the knowledge that all these establishments have been inspected and re-inspected. Just beware of the school lunch…..
Click on the restaurant name for a link to the health inspection report:
All About Burger November 9th, 2022 Routine
Angelico Pizzeria August 16th, 2022 Routine
Breadsoda June 9th, 2022 Renewal
Chipotle August 11th, 2022 Routine
CVS December 19th, 2022 Routine
Domino’s June 8th, 2022 Routine
Domino’s June 28th, 2022 Follow-up
Domino’s September 19th, 2022 Complaint
Domino’s September 30th, 2022 Follow-up
Dumplings & Beyond December 19th, 2022 Routine
Eerkins Uyghur August 9th, 2022 Routine
Eerkins Uyghur August 17th, 2022 Follow-up
Eerkins Uyghur August 19th, 2022 Restoration
Eerkins Uyghur December 20th, 2022 Routine
Einstein Bagels December 6th, 2022 Complaint
Einstein Bagels December 19th, 2022 Follow-up
Glover Park Hardware August 25th, 2022 Routine
Glover Park Hardware September 8th, 2022 Follow-up
Glover Park Grill February 7th, 2022 Follow-up
Glover Park Grill August 22, 2022 Routine
Glover Park Market August 22, 2022 Routine
Hardy Middle School April 7th, 2022 Routine
Hardy Middle School October 21st, 2022 Routine
Hardy Middle School November 18th, 2022 Follow-up
In Bocca al Lupo August 11th, 2022 Routine
In Bocca al Lupo August 25th, 2022 Follow-up
Old Europe August 10th, 2022 Routine
Point Chaud August 10th, 2022 Routine
Point Chaud August 16th, 2022 Follow-up
Rocklands BBQ June 21st, 2022 Routine
Rocklands BBQ December 6th, 2022 Routine
Sprig & Sprout November 9th, 2022 Complaint
Sprig & Sprout December 6th, 2022 Follow-up
Stoddert Elementary March 2nd, 2022 Routine
Stoddert Elementary March 9th, 2022 Follow-up
Stoddert Elementary April 4th, 2022 Follow-up
Subway June 8th, 2022 Routine
Subway June 28th, 2022 Follow-up
Subway November 18th, 2022 Routine
Sushi Keiko March 23rd, 2022 Routine
Sushi Keiko May 5th, 2022 Follow-up
Sushi Keiko August 2nd, 2022 Routine
Sushi Keiko August 17th, 2022 Follow-up
Sweetgreen April 14th, 2022 Complaint
Sweetgreen June 8th, 2022 Follow-up
Trader Joe’s June 29th, 2022 Complaint
Whole Foods March 11th, 2022 Routine
Whole Foods August 5th, 2022 Routine
Wingo’s September 21st, 2022 Routine
Wingo’s October 12th, 2022 Follow-up
Xiquet August 16th, 2022 Routine
Xiquet December 16th, 2022 Complaint