Famous 4th Street Deli is shut down over health issues; owner says they ‘dropped the ball’
Among the issues cited were mouse droppings and no chlorine observed in the dishwasher’s sanitizing solution. The owner, acknowledging what he called "processing errors," vows a speedy clean-up.
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The city Health Department ordered Famous 4th Street Deli to close on Wednesday to correct a series of violations, including mouse droppings found on a slicer as well as prep tables and no chlorine observed in the dishwashing machine’s sanitizing solution.
The restaurant, at Fourth and Bainbridge Streets in Queen Village, also did not have anyone on the premises certified by the city in food safety when the inspector arrived before lunchtime for what became a 2½-hour visit.
“Our team dropped the ball,” said owner Al Gamble, the veteran restaurateur from New England who bought the landmark in January. He vowed to correct the violations. Under department guidelines, the soonest that Famous could reopen is Friday after paying $315 for a reinspection.
“We’re confident we can get [the issues] resolved and get us reopened,” Gamble told The Inquirer late Wednesday. He acknowledged that “what [the inspector] wrote is huge. But when I spoke to her, there are three key items, and they are processing errors on our end.”
Most jurisdictions insist that establishments have on site at least one employee who has passed the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe course in food handling. Philadelphia also requires the person in charge to obtain a certificate from the city. Gamble said he was unaware of this requirement.
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Inspections are generally viewed as a snapshot of the day and time of the inspection. Many of the violations noted in Wednesday’s report were repeat violations, including “visible physical evidence of rodent activity,” improperly covered foods, “raw meat blood observed on the floor in the walk-in cooler,” and the missing sanitizer solution.
New violations included a slicer with “an accumulation of food residue mouse turds on the food contact surfaces and is not being washed, rinsed and sanitized at least every 4 hours.”
A sign reading, “Long story. Thank you for understanding. C U Friday, Famous Family,” was posted above the city’s “candy stripe” cease-operations notice on the front door.