Roosevelt Island Cafe @Cornell Tech Earns Grade A From NYC Health Department, Cafe Closed For Thanksgiving Weekend, New Winter Hours And Meet The New GM

Reported October 23 the surprising news that the Roosevelt Island Cafe @ Cornell Tech

received a NYC Health Department Restaurant Inspection C Grade.

Fortunately, the C Grade did not last long.

 On November 1, new Cafe @Cornell Tech General Manager Chris Lewis reported achieving an A Grade from the NYC Health Department. According to Mr. Lewis:

The NYC Department of Health inspected The Café yesterday and I am very pleased to announce that it earned an “A” grade.

We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while our team implemented corrective actions to receive this grade. .... The framed “C” was removed by the inspector yesterday and the “A” is slated to be posted this Monday upon its arrival. The only grade acceptable to Constellation and the Cornell Tech community is an “A,” and I ensure you that we will continuously maintain best practices for food service moving forward.

As the new General Manager for Constellation Culinary @ Cornell Tech I look forward to providing the best food service and to working with all of you. Please feel free to contact me or stop by The Café to discuss all things food.

That's good news. The Cafe has become a favorite spot for many Roosevelt Island residents and visitors since it opened last year.

The Cafe @Cornell Tech will be closed Thanksgiving Day, November 22 thru Sunday November 25 and reopen for regular schedule Monday November 26.

The Cafe will be closed for Winter Break from December  22 - January 2 2019.

Below is upcoming schedule of operation for the Cafe @Cornell Tech

Tech Cafe Holiday Schedule

During the October 25 meeting of Roosevelt Island Cornell Tech Community Construction Task Force, Cornell Tech Director of Facilities Operations Dan Cooke spoke about garbage pick up, recycling, sustainability and the Cafe operations.



Also, the new GM of Cafe @Cornell Tech Chris Lewis talked about upcoming plans for the Cafe.



More info about the Cafe @ Cornell Tech, operated by the Constellation Culinary Group, available at their web site including daily menus.

Cafe @ Cornell Tech Receives C Grade From NYC Department Of Health Restaurant Inspection, Management Apologies To Roosevelt Island Community And Promises Improvements - Students Ready To Cross Invisible Tram/Subway Barrier And Try Out Nisi Restaurant

Last Sunday, I visited the Roosevelt Island  Cafe @ Cornell Tech to order my favorite Mango Smoothie. I was very surprised and disappointed to find this NYC Department of Health (DOH) Restaurant Inspection Grade C sign posted next to the Coffee/Juice Bar.

According to an October 5, 2018 NYC DOH Restaurant Inspection Report for the Cafe @ Cornell Tech:

Violation points: 37

Sanitary Violations

1) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

2) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

3) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.

Yesterday, I asked Cornell Tech representatives to comment on the failed restaurant health inspection report and received this reply from the Cafe @ Cornell Tech Management, Constellation Culinary Group:

October 22, 2018

Dear Roosevelt Island Community:

Our company, Constellation Culinary Group (formerly Starr Catering Group), has been operating The Café @ Cornell Tech since 2017. We have had restaurants, cafés and catering businesses in New York City since 2011 and today we operate 18 locations throughout the city.

On Friday, October 5, The Café was inspected by the New York City Health Department and regrettably received a ‘C.’ The only grade that is acceptable to us is an ‘A.’ We have failed to meet that expectation and are profoundly sorry for not fulfilling our commitment to all of you, our valued guests.

Food safety is our top priority and we have committed significant resources to immediately address this situation. We have already implemented the following corrective measures and are looking to schedule a follow-up inspection in the very near future.

With full transparency, the grade was the result of the following key issues:

• The presence of fruit and food flies in the kitchen and dry storage room.
• Standing water on the kitchen floor beneath the dishwasher and sink.
• Food particle build up on the floors of the dry goods storage room.
• Required maintenance of ice machines not carried out per specification.

We want to assure you that our daily food handling practices, including the use of gloves for ready-to-eat foods and food held and served at the correct temperatures, were not an issue.

We took immediate action following the inspection, including completing the following corrective measures:

• We have replaced our General Manager effective immediately with a new General Manager, Christopher Lewis, who brings more than 15 years of foodservice operational leadership experience to the team.
• We have re-assigned supervision to Vice President of Operations, Rob Esplen, who has been onsite, working with the management team over the past two weeks.
• We have selected a new pest management provider who has already carried out its services with excellent results. Based on industry best practices, the exterminator is providing eco-friendly, FDA-approved treatments every three days until the problem is completely eradicated.
• We made necessary plumbing repairs to correct the standing water issue.
• We completed necessary maintenance to the ice machines.
• We hired a third-party sanitation and food safety consulting firm to remain on
• site this past week to conduct refresher cleaning and sanitation training with the team and implement best practices across the operation. This firm will conduct follow-up visits on a monthly basis moving forward to monitor progress.
• We have installed door sweeps on all kitchen doors

If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Scott Steenrod, Managing Director, at scott.steenrod@constellationculinary.com.

Sincerely,

Simon Powles, CEO
Scott Steenrod Managing Director

The Cafe has become a favorite spot for many Roosevelt Island residents and visitors,

and you can't beat the views from the outdoor patio, even in cold weather.

But, I have heard grumblings from Cornell Tech students who have not been happy with the food offering at the Cafe. These students are ready to cross the invisible Roosevelt Island Tram/Subway barrier to Main Street and try out the Nisi Restaurant and any new restaurant that may open in the future.

Below is the most recent NYC DOH Health Inspection Restaurant Grades for Roosevelt Island.

All received A's except for the Cafe @ Cornell Tech C Grade.

Here's how NYC DOH scores and grades restaurants.

Roosevelt Island Restaurants Rat Free Says Report - Really, Is That True?

The Roosevelt Island Twitterverse reacts to our local rat free restaurants:

Congratulations, @Rooseveltisland. If you can only be good at one thing, I guess this is a good one. http://t.co/1jBsfYFgVp
— Elizabeth Hodges 2.0 (@eljhawk) February 18, 2014

Roosevelt Island is a rat-free oasis. Shut down the incoming trams! http://t.co/p52Q09QYkE
— Nick Turner (@SFNick) February 18, 2014

Downtown Manhattan & Roosevelt Island are completely rat free? How can that be? Both surround by water! I might be moving! Thos
— RMGA (@blacbyrd) February 18, 2014

Gothamist explains how the NYC Restaurant Rat Map was created:

... Steven Melendez took the restaurant inspection data from the Health Department and looked at all the inspections since Jan. 1, 2013. Then he counted the total number of inspected restaurants and number of restaurants that received citations for "evidence of mice or live mice" or "evidence of rats or live rats" in that time period for each zip code. Then, for each zip code, he added to the info window any restaurant that currently has a C grade and was cited for mice and/or rats in its most recent graded inspection.

While some neighborhoods came out critter-free—you go, Roosevelt Island!—others had some pretty nauseating stats....

Do you think Roosevelt Island restaurants are rat free? Here's the most recent NYC Health Department Restaurant Grade inspections for Roosevelt Island.

Good news. Everybody got an A.

No Major Health Code Violations At Roosevelt Island Restaurants - 4 Have Even Received Letter A Grade From Health Department - Others Not Yet Received Grade

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council Delegate from Southtown Dave Evans forwards this AMNY article on New York City Restaurant Health Inspections and notes that Roosevelt Island restaurants come out pretty good on the Health Inspection ratings regarding major health violations. Mr. Evans writes:

ROOSEVELT ISLAND RESTAURANTS ARE NOT THE WORST--AREA CODE 10044 RATED BEST?

While in attendance at a RIRA-Common Council Committee meeting, a colleague (I think it was Lynne) asked if I'd taken note of the NY Health Department's ratings posted in windows of some of our Roosevelt Island eateries.  Well, I checked out an  "am New York" article on 9 February and was duly impressed just as she was.  Look, we are better than many others in NYC, with eight of ours having ZERO, NADA major violations right alongside restaurants found in Battery Park.  OK, maybe there is aesthetic work to be done and this could happen with anticipated and hopefully forthcoming updates to Main Street businesses.  So, in the meantime, perhaps we shouldn't knock our on-Island eateries too much, just occasionally give 'em some business.

Click on image above to enlarge and note on chart near bottom of page that restaurants in zip code 10044 (Roosevelt Island) had zero major health code violations. Major health code violations are defined as having 16 or more points as determined by the Health Department.

To date, four Roosevelt Island restaurant have received Restaurant Inspection letter grades of A from the Health Department. They are the two Subway Restaurants, the Trellis Diner  and Starbucks. Nonnos, Riverwalk Bar & Grill, China One and Fuji East have not yet received a letter grade.

More on Roosevelt Island restaurant health inspections as well as an explanation as to how the restaurant letter grades are determined from this earlier post.

The most recent Roosevelt Island Restaurant Inspection Information Reports are here. Just plug in the 10044 zip code for results and explanations.

Letter Grades For New York City Restaurant Health Inspections - Roosevelt Island's Trellis Diner Gets An A, Others Not Graded Yet

The New York Post reports on the New York City Health Department's recently enacted letter grading system for restaurant inspections.

Now you "C" them, now you don't. The Health Department has identified the first 15 restaurants branded with a lowly C since the city's A-B-C grading system was launched more than three months ago -- but more than half of those eateries were caught hiding their lousy grades from customers....

According to the NYC Health Department Restaurant Inspection Information page:

... Starting in July 2010, New York City is requiring restaurants to post letter grades that correspond to scores that it receives from its sanitary inspection. An inspection score of 0-13 is an A, 14-27 points is a B, and 28 or more points is a C. Grade cards must be posted where they can easily be seen by people passing by...

How did Roosevelt Island restaurants do on the grading system? Well, the Trellis Diner had the most recent inspection on November 4, received 12 violation points for a grade of A and like a parent proud of a child's Report Card, posted the A grade on their window for all passing Roosevelt Island residents to see.

Trellis Diner Received An A Grade From NY Health Department Restaurant Inspection

None of the other Roosevelt Island restaurants have yet to receive a letter grade though their most recent Restaurant Inspection reports are here. UPDATE 4:40 PM - Extension of the Trellis Lease is on the Agenda for the November 17 RIOC Real Estate Development Committee Meeting.

Latest Roosevelt Island Restaurant Violation Reports - Good Job By Trellis & Nonnos With Zero Violations/China One, Fuji & Subway Have To Do Better

Image from Chicago Tribune

Below are the latest Roosevelt Island Restaurant Inspection reports from the NYC Department of Health. (DOH). Click on restaurant name for individual reports.

CHINA 1 KITCHEN
609 MAIN STREET, MANHATTAN 10044
24 Violations

FUJI
455 MAIN STREET, MANHATTAN 10044
25 Violations

NONNO'S FOCACCERIA
455 MAIN STREET, MANHATTAN 10044
0 Violations

STARBUCKS COFFEE
455 MAIN STREET, MANHATTAN 10044
15 Violations

SUBWAY
900 MAIN STREET, MANHATTAN 10044
14 Violations

SUBWAY
1 MAIN STREET, MANHATTAN 10044
27 Violations

TRELLIS
549 MAIN STREET, MANHATTAN 10044
0 Violations

According to the NYC DOH, here's how the Violation Reports work:

The lower the number of points accrued by a restaurant during an inspection, the better the inspection result.

The Health Department inspects restaurants, and assigns violation points for every violation observed, depending on the severity and extent of the violation. A score of 27 or less is needed for a restaurant to pass the inspection. Restaurants with scores of 28 or more are re-inspected.

Good job by Trellis and Nonnos with Zero violations!

Trellis Open For Business Today

Image of Trellis Portabello Cheese Challah from nycnosh

The Trellis Diner opened today after being closed for the last week by the Department of Health.

Here is the restaurant inspection report for Roosevelt Island from DOH.

Trellis Closed By Order Of The Commissioner Of Health - No Reason Known At This Time

Image of Trellis diner from nrvlowdown

As I was walking by the Trellis Diner this evening, I saw this notice taped to it's window announcing that the restaurant was closed by order of the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene.


At this time, no reason given nor is any information provided at the NYC Dept. of Health Roosevelt Island restaurant inspection web page as to why Trellis might have been closed.