How clean is your favorite restaurant?

Perfect record

These food establishments faced at least four inspections in 2014 and received no violations:

• Boston’s Bistro & Pub at 7500 North Main St. in Dayton.

• Hasty Tasty Pancake House at 3509 Linden Ave. in Dayton.

• The Hot Head Burrito restaurants at 1113 Brown Street in Dayton and 6480 Brandt Pike in Huber Heights.

• Las Piramides at 6290 Chambersburg Road in Huber Heights.

• Slyders Tavern on Watervliet in Dayton.

• The Subways at 528 Wilmington Ave. and at 1814 Woodman Drive in Dayton.

• Thai Treat Cuisine at 6118 Chambersburg Road in Huber Heights.

• Hara Arena Food Service Inc. at 1001 Shiloh Springs Road in Dayton.

• Centerville City School Central at 500 E. Franklin St. in Centerville.

• Growing Seeds Child Care & Learning at 800 Shoup Mill Road in Dayton.

• Immaculate Conception School at 2268 S. Smithville Road in Dayton.

• Speedway #1194 at 2150 E. Dorothy Lane in Kettering.

• Northridge Senior High School at 2251 Timber Lane in Dayton.

• Timberlane School Lunchroom at 2131 Timber Lane in Dayton.

The Dayton Daily News examined a database of 34,613 food inspections going back to 2009 from Public Health Dayton & Montgomery County. It does not contain data on Oakwood food establishments, because that city has its own health department. The newspaper analyzed data on the almost 39,000 violations during the period, focusing on the 6,400 violations that occurred in 2014. Inspections were logged on 2,670 food establishments.

The Dayton Daily News examined more than 34,000 food inspections in Montgomery County going back to 2009.

The examination found:

Here is our full, in-depth story

Restaurants in Montgomery County had a 5.3 percent increase in critical health violations in 2014, and inspections of food establishments found close to 6,400 total violations of Ohio food code.

Those are the findings of a Dayton Daily News investigation of 5,980 inspections of 2,670 food establishments logged by Public Health Dayton & Montgomery County. The data does not include Oakwood, which has its own health district.

More than a third of the establishments had no violations at all, and many of the violations were resolved in followup inspections. But some eating places had serious problems. Among the violations cited were unsanitary bathrooms, improper temperatures in refrigerators and coolers, and — in rare cases — instances involving pests. The data shows that in 35 instances, inspectors found mouse droppings, and in one case a dead mouse. In another 34 inspections, sanitarians found roaches, flies or ants.

Most restaurants can expect three unannounced inspections a year, said Jennifer Wentzel, director of environmental health for the health district. Inspections can take anywhere from 20 minutes to three or four hours, depending on the complexity of the facility and what the sanitarians find, she said.

“We’re going to look at those items that are critical to safe foods,” Wentzel said. “We’ll look at temperature control. We’ll look at thermometers. We’ll look at hand-washing, their cooling practices, their reheating practices, how they store foods and the refrigeration.”

Last year, the district had no confirmed food-borne illnesses, Wentzel said. Close to 30 people did get sick with a norovirus following a wedding reception last October in Miamisburg, she said. But the food samples did not test positive for contamination, she said, and the caterer was from Cincinnati and not inspected by the district.

While inspections were down slightly (2.4 percent) from 2013, the district’s 16 sanitarians found 206 more violations last year, an increase of about 3.3 percent, the newspaper analysis found. Of those violations, 2,550 were critical, an increase of 128 or 5.3 percent from 2013.

Sanitarians found and average of 11 violations and about 4 critical violations in every 10 inspections in 2014.

Inspections a snapshot

Critical violations — identified by federal and state authorities as the most potentially hazardous to customers' health — involve practices such as employee hand-washing and illness, proper sources of food and water, proper food storage and cooking, and proper dishwashing.

Evidence of pest activity is relatively rare, found in slightly more than 1 percent of the inspections last year, the newspaper’s examination found.

Wentzel cautioned that the inspections are just a “snapshot in time.”

“We only see what we see when we’re in there,” she said. “Without being there every day, it’s hard to say if it’s a rare or common occurrence.

“Insects come in on deliveries. Mice come in from the cold weather. I mean, that happens.”

‘Evidence of pests’

Records from the now-closed Bagel Cafe contained inspection comments mentioning both mice and insects among other critical problems.

When inspectors find serious problems, Wentzel said, they return for a follow-up inspection. And at the former eatery at 4001 Far Hills Ave. in Kettering, they kept coming back.

The cafe was the subject of 15 inspections last year – most among any establishment in the county.

Evidence of mice was found during inspections in January, February, March, June and August.

“Observed evidence of mice throughout establishment,” the sanitarian wrote on June 3. “Contact licensed pest control operator immediately. Clean establishment thoroughly. Maintain.”

Following an Aug. 6 inspection, the sanitarian wrote: “Evidence of pests was observed as well as an abundance of fruit flies and house flies.” The inspector again stated a licensed pest control operator was needed.

“Clean up all waste throughout establishment,” the inspector wrote. “Put in place a better cleaning routine to control flies. Empty garbage cans often, clean floors, wall, food contact surface, behind equipment, bathrooms, and especially exterior and interior of floor drains. Keep all doors and windows closed.”

That same inspection found the cafe had no hot water. The water heater was fixed by the next inspection on Aug. 11, but the coolers were not working correctly.

Throughout the year, inspectors found the coolers were not keeping temperatures cold enough. Following the Aug. 11 inspection, the inspector wrote: “Refrigeration is still not capable or holding food at proper temperature, and ice baths are being used. Air conditioning unit is not working, and establishment is closing early due to the heat.”

On Aug. 20, the inspector stated: “Mechanical refrigeration is needed immediately to remain in operation.”

The owner, Chris Schlorman, closed the restaurant five days later.

No violations

More than a third (966) of the establishments that were inspected last year had no violations and 16 establishments passed at least four inspections with a perfect record.

Boston's Bistro & Pub, 7500 North Main St. in Dayton, was among the establishments that passed all inspections with flying colors.

Owner David Boston credited his staff. “I couldn’t do it without them,” said Boston, who has owned Boston’s Bistro in downtown Dayton and then on North Main Street since 1981. “We probably have the best crew that I’ve ever had in 38 years. They understand the value of cleaning and they understand the value of food inspection at any time.”

Boston’s was inspected last year in February, June, September and December. Comments about those inspections were either “Operation satisfactory” or “No violations at this time.”

Boston, who is at the Bistro every day, said his kitchen supervisor, Erik Wheeler, has done a good job training the staff to keep the kitchen clean.

Health district inspectors are fair and professional, he said.

“They look at the most serious expenses, and it’s not that they’re nitpicking,” Boston said. “They’re honing each location down to where they’re as perfect as they can possibly be, because we’re handling food. And it’s really that important.”

‘Whatever he tells me, I do it.’

At the top of the list for critical violations in 2014 was JJ Fish & Chicken at 1926 Needmore Road in Dayton, though the bulk of the problems were toward the beginning of the year and were later resolved.

The restaurant led all establishments in the county with 16 critical violations. It had another 16 violations that are not deemed critical, according to standards from the Ohio Department of Health.

Fourteen of the 32 violations, including five of the criticals, occurred in January 2014, before the current owner, Jassam Abbas, said he took over at the end of February. As of November, the health district records show, JJ had resolved their issues.

Many of JJ Fish & Chicken’s critical violations were for improper storage of food. For example, JJ’s was singled out in January because the temperature in the restaurant’s walk-in cooler was above the 41-degree state standard.

“In order to limit the growth of bacteria, items like fish/chicken must be kept below 41 degrees,” the inspector wrote on Jan. 23, 2014.

The inspector also found critical violations involving side items that were not date marked and cole slaw stored below raw chicken in the walk-in cooler.

Non-critical violations included a cold water line disconnected in the bathroom; boxes of chicken and onions stored on the floor of the walk-in cooler; mold on the light housing and fan guard in the cooler; holes in the wall around the main kitchen hand sink; and gaps around the rear exit door that was letting in cold air and causing water in the mop sink to freeze.

Later in the year, from May through November, sanitarians listed 18 violations, including 11 critical violations. On Nov. 5, the restaurant was notified of eight violations — four critical and four non-critical.

All the issues were resolved when the sanitarian returned a week later, the records show.

Abbas, 38, who immigrated from Baghdad five years ago and now lives in Centerville, said the sanitarian helped him pass muster.

“When he come, he said the temperature was high,” Abbas said. “So I changed the compressor.”

Abbas showed a reporter the thermometer from the cooler that read 34 degrees.

“He say the microwave, he wanted it cleaned every day,” Abbas said. “So that’s what I do now. Inside the cooler he said keep the bread separate, chicken separate, fish. That is what I did. Then he check after a week, he say everything is good now. We don’t have anything wrong.

“Whatever he tells me, I do it. That’s it.”

Wentzel said the health district tries to educate restaurant owners and workers on cleanliness.

“When we find a violation in a restaurant, we want to make sure that they know the reason why it is a violation,” Wentzel said. “So we’re going to explain to them the reasoning behind it, to help them understand that they can’t continue to do that.”

‘We’ll go from there’

Church’s Fried Chicken No. 412 at 5711 North Dixie Drive in Dayton had 39 total violations last year — the most in the county. A dozen of those violations were critical.

The establishment has racked up 186 total violations since the beginning of 2009, when the district inspections database was launched. A Daily News investigation last year found that Church's restaurant ranked second in violations from 2009 to 2013.

On five separate inspections from February to September, sanitarians found cooked chicken that was not being held hot enough. State code requires hot food to be held at at least 135 degrees. Sanitarians found it being held as low as 98 degrees on one occasion and at 115 degrees on several other occasions, the documents show.

In February, the inspector found that cole slaw was not being kept cold enough, and in May uncooked chicken was not kept cold enough in the walk-in cooler, according to the inspection report. On two other occasions the staff was found not to have a thermometer to monitor safe temperatures. And in February, the restroom soap dispenser did not contain soap or was not working.

All of the above are critical violations, according to state code.

The manager of the restaurant last week said she could not speak to reporters and would not give contact information for the owner, who she said was out of state. A card was left, but no phone calls were returned.

Wentzel accompanied the sanitarian during one inspection last summer, the records show, which shows the health district’s concern about the restaurant.

During the June 11 inspection, Wentzel said she saw “multiple maintenance issues including equipment issues and physical facilities problems such as floor maintenance.”

Restaurants that continually fail to comply with sanitarian instructions are sent a notice to appear at a hearing at health district headquarters in the Reibold Building in downtown Dayton. If the owner can’t agree on a solution, the business faces a possible revocation of its license.

Church’s Fried Chicken No. 412 was called in for a hearing in April 2013, Wentzel said. “Progress was made” on violations, followup inspection reports show, but the business could be facing another hearing, according to Wentzel.

“They’re close,” she said. “Very close.”

Wentzel said another inspection will be conducted in the spring.

“And then we’ll go from there as far as what we see on that next inspection,” she said.