Chipotle Mexican Grill on Amsterdam between 72nd and 73rd street was closed down on Tuesday for a considerable list of health violations, racking up 72 violation points (anything above 28 gets you a C, the lowest grade). While this Chipotle location has generally posted strong scores in the past, it appears to have gone downhill recently, getting 31 violation points in an inspection on August 1.
Sanitary Violations
1) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
3) Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
4) Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures.
5) Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed.
6) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
7) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
8) Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
9) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
For previous news on health violations on the Upper West Side, click here.
Noooooooo! It will be reopened, right? RIGHT?
Yes, most of these are temporary closures. WSR
eeek I just ate there
The City has given a mandate to raise revenue from the sitting ducks -also known as small businesses and landlords.
They are treated like an ATM with constant ticketing and fines.
Its outrageous
Chipotle a small business? Makes me wonder what your idea of a big business is.
Exactly. McDonalds was one of their main investors. While McDs no longer owns them, their stores are company stores–**not** individual franchises (small businesses).
Yes I know it is part of a large chain.. I usually make a point of making a note – the one time i don’t …..jeeeeeez
you are missing my point entirely – the small businesses are the ones who cannot afford the constant shakedown – chipotle/McDs can of course.
don’t beliieve me? ask your local restuarant/bar owner…
if you go to them rather then Red Lobster….
72 points, most of them critical. yes, outrageous indeed!
Oh no! I guess we’ll have to go back to eating at the LOCALLY-OWNED, non-McDonalds establishments! Heavens to Betsy!
no second chance….close the place down.
Manhattan should be shut down for rats infestation. I have never seen so many rats running freely in the streets and the park. As an example 60th st between Broadway and Ninth just across from the 5 stars Mandarin Hotel is crawling with hundreds of rats after dark.
NYC needs to invest $500 million dollars immediately on rats extermination, not the measly $600,000 it is spending now. we will be getting Typhus soon. NYC is the most rat infested big Western city in the world.
RE: ‘Manhattan should be shut down for rats infestation. I have never seen so many rats running freely in the streets and the park.”
I’ve been busy with other projects (stocking up food for winter) but I just had to comment on this.
Turns out that, once again, Brooklyn beats Manhattan, but this time for reasons that are not so hip.
According to the Website CityLab, “Of the five boroughs, Brooklyn takes top prize for infestation with 31 percent of the total volume of complaints, while Manhattan and Queens are the runners-up with 22 percent each.”
Of course, my cousins in Brooklyn ARE a different and much more sophisticated breed, as they’re used to artisanal cheese and all the other DIY foodie stuff that ‘that other borough’ is becoming famous for.
Still, wanna know the best thing about Brooklyn? Easy! From there you get a great view of Manhattan.
Employees have been staged on the sidewalk in order to tell passers-by that the refrigerator is broken and that is the only reason for closure. Dishonest practice for a bad situation.
I know it doesn’t have anything to do with health code violations, but as a frequenter of this location (I know, yuck), I have noticed weird things lately.
I have watched drug dealers set up shop inside the front window during LUNCH hours. Sitting there plain as day, without purchasing anything, having their customers sent in to exchange money for a little baggie. Nothing is being done about it,
Also, the workers are just plain lazy. Nobody cleans up. I’ve seen the garbage can near the front door left overflowing and flies buzzing around it. Workers will walk by without changing it or at least sweeping up all the food on the ground. The Chipiotle on 8th/56th is busier and kept up much better.
Last night, the restaurant had up a sign saying “Don’t panic – we’re closed because of an equipment issue” right next to the bright yellow health department closure signs. Chipotle, you sit on a throne of lies.
We walked by last night and it had the closed sign up from the board of health. The employee was sitting outside and lightly said, oh we closed because we were having problems with our refrigeration.We’ll be open tomorrow.
Rats and Roaches will be here long after we are!… Unfortunately. This is not the first time there has been a rat infestation and it doesn’t seem like it will be the last.
I hope they close it down for good. It would at least be one small step against mega chains taking over completely and ruthlessly pushing out any mom and pops along the way.
eww thats nasty
I can’t speak for this location, but the one on 72nd is a wreck. Observe the employees and the food prep for about five minutes. Definitely not living up to the Chipotle brand rep.
It is true that several Chipotle fast food places lack cleanliness. There is a lot of food on the floor and people step on it. The tables are dirty and not cleaned properly. The outside is not washed or clean properly causes a lot of bacteria and odor. I believe this chain makes enough money to have a better eating environment.
It is shameful to point out to you.
I visited 3 of their restaurants in Southern California and they were incredibly filthy. I will visit 4 more and I might then send you the list.