This week, Darcy Spears is giving us a double dose of Dirty Dining. First, she's got something that hasn't happened in nearly two years: a restaurant that's used up all its strikes and is being called out.
We talk about repeat offenders a lot on Dirty Dining, but this place is giving that term a whole new meaning.
It's gotten so bad, it looks like this place is going to be shut down for good.
Gandhi India's Cuisine at Paradise and Flamingo roads was first on Dirty Dining in October 2015. Turns out that was the beginning of a downward spiral.
If a picture's worth a thousand words, then the Health District's photos taken at Gandhi are worth a thousand roaches.
PHOTOS: Dirty Dining Feb. 28, 2017
Gandhi was recently shut down for a multi-generational cockroach infestation.
If you feed them, they will come. And these roaches had a feast.
Inspectors called the infestation "excessively active" and found the roaches housed inside an excessively greasy burner where food was actively cooking. Roaches were also in the prep area, near the sink and on the hot line.
Gandhi's own pest control reports showed the restaurant requires a complete clean-out to eliminate the roach problem.
We went by to see if any cleaning was going on.Their van was parked outside, but the restaurant's doors were locked.
The sign on the door says they're closed for remodeling, indicating someone should be doing something.
In addition to the roach infestation, inspectors also saw a food handler using expired, 11-day old tomato sauce to cook with.
There was meat was sitting in a damp and dirty cardboard box. And lots of food in the fridge, including sauces, meats and more were uncovered and subject to contamination. There was also freezer-burned chicken in a torn Ziploc bag.
Dirty containers of utensils and a dirty food processor were stored as clean. And there were repeat violations for brown slime in the ice machine and food with no date labels.
The sign on the door from Gandhi management says, "We are closed for remodeling. We apologize for inconvenience."
But that is not true.
It's kind of hidden behind a decal, but the Health District's closure sign shows "imminent health hazard, pest infestation and suspension of health permit pending revocation."
Revocation. Not remodeling. That is what's going on here.
Gandhi's owner, a manager and another representative had a conference in December 2016 with Health District supervisors about the restaurant's history of failed inspections.
They were warned that another C grade or closure within a year would set the revocation process in motion, and that happened on Feb. 16.
The Health District sent the owner a letter, which says, "The Health District can no longer allow your facility to operate in a way that endangers public health."
Gandhi is still closed, but they don't want to stay that way. The owner has filed an appeal to try to plead his case for re-opening.
A hearing is scheduled for March 9.
