Lawrence grocery & Overland Park restaurant briefly shut down for roach infestations

The Kansas Department of Agriculture recently cited two operations for roach infestations. The establishments were temporarily shut down to correct the problem, then reinspected and allowed to reopen.

▪ Community Mercantile, (also known as the Merc Co+op), 901 Iowa St., Lawrence, was temporarily shut down after a June 28 routine inspection when the licensee did not cease operations and notify the KDA of the imminent health hazard of a roach infestation.

The inspector found more than 250 live roaches, including 50 behind the bakery oven, 25 under a hot cart and on the walls and ceiling area by the hot cart, and 50 behind the oven.

The person in charge said pest control was used monthly, including a week before the inspection when the pest control company “did not do an immediate treatment. Pest control made plans to treat facility at a later time,” according to the report.

The store was reinspected on June 29 and had no priority violations and was allowed to reopen. It had no priority violations during a July 9 follow-up inspection.

In a statement, General Manager Rita York Hennecke said: “In my tenure of 13 years, this was the first time our store had ever been cited for a pest issue. The concern was isolated to one area of the store. While the full store was cleared to open just an hour later, we elected to close the store for the remainder of the day to take aggressive and immediate action. We know that we have to work hard to regain the public’s trust. We feel confident that this will never happen again, thanks in part to our partnership with a new pest control company.”

▪ Mai Thai Restaurant, 12250 W. 135th St., Overland Park, was temporarily closed after a May 31 inspection following a complaint. The restaurant was cited when it did not cease operations and notify the health department of the imminent health hazard of a roach infestation.

About 30 roaches were found, one on the edge of a metal food pan and some on shelving.

It had no priority violations during a June 1 reopening inspection and was allowed to reopen.

The restaurant previously shut down for a roach infestation after an April 17 follow-up inspection.

The owners did not return phone calls.

This story was originally published July 12, 2018 at 12:11 PM.