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Popular UWS Kefi Restaurant Fails Health Dept Inspection. Twice.
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 2, 2012
Modified Oct 2, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 2, 2012
Modified Oct 2, 2012
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Kefi, Michael Psilakis's beloved Upper West Side Greek restaurant, failed a Department of Health restaurant inspection yesterday, which closed the joint—and then failed its follow-up this morning!
This morning, West Side Rag reported on the Monday closure, and Eater added, "the restaurant is getting a second chance this morning to pass its inspection and open back up." However, a tipster just told us that Kefi failed a second inspection today.
A call to Kefi confirmed that it would be closed today and that it hoped to re-open tomorrow. According to the Department of Health's website, Kefi's last inspection on April 19, 2012 only racked up 10 points, giving them an "A" grade (one of the violations was "Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment"). Our tipster suggests that the wage lawsuit that Kefi was hit with in March may have contributed to the current situation, and claims owners' are allegedly trying to save money (for the lawsuit) by skimping on things like supplies of utensils, which then makes things difficult for employees.
We contacted the Health Department for more details on the latest round of inspections, and we'll update when we hear back. (The information is not yet online.) Kefi's publicist did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Update: Kefi's publicist says, "Following a failed health inspection, incidents reported on Monday night are currently being resolved. Kefi continues to work towards upholding its level of excellence and will reopen for service tomorrow."
Tagged
department of health
kefi
michael psilakis
restaurant inspection
Upper West Side
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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