By Gus Saltonstall
A longtime Upper West Side Chinese restaurant was temporarily closed by the New York City Health Department earlier this week.
Empire Szechuan Kyoto, which has served customers at 193 Columbus Avenue, between West 68th and 69th streets, since 1980, failed a health inspection on Monday.
The Chinese spot received 64 violation points for the following infractions, according to the Health Department’s portal.
- Cold food held above 41 degrees.
- Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded properly.
- Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment’s food or non-food areas.
- Live roaches in facility’s food or non-food area.
- Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage associated with flies or other nuisance pests in establishment’s food and/or non-food areas.
- Food, supplies or equipment not protected from potential source of contamination.
- Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed, and sanitized after each use.
There is also a sign on the door that said the restaurant was closed for “scheduled equipment upgrades and deep cleaning.”
“Thank you for your patronage. To ensure the highest quality of service and dining experience…we are closed for scheduled equipment upgrades and deep cleaning service,” reads the note from Empire from Columbus Management. “We expect to reopen as soon as possible.”
Empire Szechuan Kyoto is closed as of Thursday afternoon. Once the restaurant corrects the violations and gets reinspected, it can reopen.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
