By Daniel Katzive
The city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has ordered the closure of 72nd Eatery, a small, deli-type establishment with tables on Columbus Avenue at West 72nd Street. On Friday morning, the deli still had cupcakes in the display case, but the lights were off, a bicycle lock secured the front door from the outside, and a yellow sticker on the window dated March 3 proclaimed “CLOSED by order of the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene.”
City inspectors found a range of violations on that date at the 261 Columbus Avenue location, according to the health department’s website. Problems identified included: improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food stored at incorrect temperatures, and evidence of mice.
The establishment was cited for similar violations in an inspection a little over a year ago, on February 2, 2024, but then appeared to have corrected them several days later, according to information on the website.
72nd Eatery opened in December 2022, replacing Columbus Gourmet Foods, which had been at that spot from 1995 until September 2022, when the health department shut it down. At the time of its 2022 re-opening, the business had a new name, 72nd Eatery, but the same owner as Columbus Gourmet Foods, who told WSR at the time that he had fully renovated the space, noting “everything is brand new from A to Z.”
Outside the shop on Friday morning, siblings Parker and Mackenzie Louison were recalibrating. They were visiting from Connecticut and cat-sitting at an apartment nearby. They had come to 72nd Eatery for breakfast on a recommendation from Google Maps but arrived to find they were out of luck. “So I guess we’re going to have to find breakfast somewhere else,” said Parker.
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Ok, I draw the line at these cupcakes.
Must be tough to get shut down by the health department, renovate and re-open and then…get shut down by the health department again.
Either the building is haunted or the business/sanitation practices need to change.
Unless said “renovation” included extensive and proper rodent proofing *and* quality follow-up extermination rodents will only return sooner or later.
With buildings old as many are in NYC you’ve got to start below grade level and go up each level to rodent proof every possible entry point for rodents. Mice in particular due to their small size only require hole size of a dime or less.
As for other violations much of that can often be traced to lax staff training and supervision.
It’s haunted by the ghost of Spook E Maus.
Thank you for continuing to post these health violation notices
Gone are the days when we could read the week’s violations/closing in the NYT. A must read every Sunday. Many, many surprises; bodegas to multi-star restaurants.
Yes, that was interesting. My recollection was that it ended after a number of inspectors were busted for being on the take. Imagine that ?!
Those garbage cans in front don’t make that p;ace look too appetizing.
Businesses have no choice. Adams administration mandates all commercial rubbish (especially from food places) be placed in containers. It’s part of city’s rodent control program.
Most stores, delis, restaurants, supermarkets or whatever do not have space inside to store those containers so there you are.
The stores always had garbage. It didn’t magically disappear. The garbage cans should be stored away from the clientele. A good place would be wherever garbage was stored prior to the garbage can mandate. It seems that the more progressive the city government the more laws and restrictions placed on the citizenry.
To Parker and Mackenzie: Obs, you shoulda brought the cat.
The staff at the Eatery is very nice, and it’s one of the few places on the UWS you can grab a snack and eat it either inside or outside.
Mice are very territorial and do not travel many feet from birthplace. Mouseproofing a location should not be overly difficult with some followup.
I’m in Mexico right now. I’ve been coming to this particular fishing village for over forty years. There are now lots of bars and restaurants, not to mention food stores here. There are no health inspectors or certificates on the walls. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen that anywhere in Mexico. In fact, I’ve never even seen a rat here! There must be rats in the big cities but I’ve never seen one. I suppose people occasionally get sick, but it’s not an epidemic or anything and people get sick in NY also. I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be health inspections in NYC, but I do find this curious.
New UWS resident here. This one hurts. The staff was so lovely and it was always such a quick and easy place to grab something. Not loving the idea that I was grabbing something possibly unsanitary, that is for sure. Do we know if they will try to re-open or is that probably not happening?
food poisoning from a bagel with cream cheese could turn me off completely.
I’m not surprised they’re having a rodent problem. The yards of the ground level apartments behind the restaurant are completely infested with rats – they’ve burrowed right into the soil and seem impervious to normal control methods.
It’s back open does anyone know the deal?