Texas Cajun Cafe cited for multiple violations

Last week’s closure of the Texas Cajun Cafe was not the first time the restaurant was cited for critical food service violations.
According to the Scurry County Health Unit, the restaurant has had 19 repeat critical violations since September and the most recent violations led to Director Dana Hartman closing the restaurant’s doors.
“That is something that I do not want to do,” she said of closing a restaurant. “We got very lucky that no one in the public got sick or none of the workers were sick.”
According to Hartman and owner Michael Darcy, an inspection was held April 24. 
Hartman said she called the restaurant to let them know that she would be inspecting the facility during the afternoon — after the lunch rush. Darcy said the inspection was a surprise and his employees did not know it was happening until Hartman showed up.
“I gave them a courtesy call. They knew I was coming,” Hartman said.
During the inspection, Hartman cited the restaurant for an inappropriate hot water level. Darcy said a water line cracked and the hot water heater was not turned on in a timely manner, which led to the unit not reaching the proper temperature level. 
Hartman said during the inspection, an employee told her that there was no way to adjust the temperature on the unit.
One of the biggest issues was the temperature of the walk-in cooler. When Hartman arrived, the temperature was 53 degrees. The warmest it should be set at is 43 degrees. 
Hartman said she observed open boxes of seafood and the seafood inside was “milky.”
Darcy contended that the cooler was in the defrost mode and that was the reason it was not at the proper level.
“There is no way that it was in the defrost mode with those conditions,” Hartman said.
Hartman also said the restaurant did not have test strips for the dishwasher. She said the test strips help the staff know if the chemical balance is correct.
“If there is not enough chemicals, bacteria shows up. If there is too much, it will leave a toxic residue.”
Hartman and Darcy both said the restaurant was cited for its appearance. When Hartman arrived, food was left out on counters and not disposed of properly. 
Darcy said it was because she arrived after the lunch rush, but according to her documents, she arrived at 3:24 p.m. April 24, well after the lunch rush ended.
Darcy said he will comply with all of the violations and the restaurant will be reinspected on Thursday.
“I felt the investigation was not complete,” he said. “It was held at the wrong time.”
However, Hartman said she wanted to meet with the management team to discuss the violations. 
She set up a meeting for 10 a.m. April 26, but no one was at the restaurant. Once they arrived, she talked to the food managers about the seriousness of the issues.
“I did this as a courtesy,” she said.
Hartman said she was glad to hear Darcy was planning to comply and work with her to help prevent the restaurant from being cited again.
“We have corrected or plan to correct the issues found during the inspection,” Darcy said. “Our main goal is to make sure the public is safe.”