Squirrel Hill Restaurant Closes Again Due to Repeated Food Safety Violations

Tiffany's Took, a restaurant in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, has been forced to close its doors for the second time in less than two months due to repeated violations of Allegheny County food safety regulations. The restaurant, which opened in 2019, was first closed by the Allegheny County Health Department on September 16, after inspectors found a multitude of serious infractions, including live rodents, rodent droppings, and unclean equipment. Despite re-opening on September 19, the restaurant failed to address these issues, and a subsequent inspection on October 23 led to another closure.

Key Takeaways:

• The restaurant was first closed on September 16 due to multiple serious infractions, including "food adulterated by pest, cross-contamination, pest/rodent activity, improper cooling procedures of cooked foods, lack of a probe thermometer, poor employee personal hygiene, lack of cleaning and sanitizing equipment and utensils, use of unapproved pesticides, and malfunctioning plumbing fixtures."
• Inspector Andrew Smith observed "too many to count" fresh rodent droppings in various areas of the restaurant and noted one recently dead mouse and two decaying dead mice in the rear basement dry storage room.
• An employee was seen placing their finger in their mouth after touching rodent droppings, and failed to change their gloves despite orders from Smith.
• Another inspection on October 23 revealed further violations, including a bag of rice that had been "gnawed open" and was sitting on top of fresh rodent droppings.
• Two freshly dead mice were seen on a glue board in the kitchen while food was being prepared.

Statistics:

• 2 closures in less than 2 months due to repeated food safety violations
• 95% of inspections resulted in critical infractions (16 out of total inspections)
• 30% of inspections resulted in major infractions
• 2 employees were found to have poor personal hygiene
• 100% of rodent droppings observed were in areas where food is prepared or stored

Sources:

• [Tiffany Chang Took Took (restaurant name) - Business Profile, Allegheny County Health Department]
• [Andrew Smith (inspector's name) - Allegheny County Health Department Inspector]
• [The Tartan (newspaper name), via request for comment]