Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

Following up on last week’s Department of Health closings of The Abbey Pub (237 W. 105th, between Broadway & Amsterdam) and Hungarian Pastry Shop (1030 Amsterdam, 110th/111th).

Both establishments have been reopened.

The Abbey Pub was closed on 3/8 and reopened on 3/14.

Hungarian Pastry Shop was only shuttered for two days, closing 3/14 and reopening on 3/16.

The Columbia Spectator posted an article on the circumstances surrounding the closure. The restaurant claims DOH inspectors focused on areas that weren’t related to food service. Per CS:

Owner Philip Binioris said that after basement renovations on Thursday and Friday, the restaurant was safe, as reflected by the later inspections. The vast majority of the violations, Binioris said, were in Hungarian’s basement, in which no food is stored.

“None of our food ever goes downstairs,” he said. “Our food production area was not targeted.”

Further down:

“The grading system is a horrible system,” Binioris said. “The health department is a revenue source for the city the way it is currently run … It’s a great way for the city to make fast money.”

“They’re not just looking to provide a safe environment, which is what their main mission should be—without a doubt, they’re out to generate revenue,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind more oversight if I felt their motivation was altruistic.”

There are additional details in the article, so definitely click through if you’re interested in more.

Binioris appears to give a fairly honest assessment of the situation, but you can obviously draw your own conclusions. While HSP likely had legitimate infractions that required action on their part, I continue to believe the DOH’s system for grading and closing restaurants is inconsistent and flawed.

H/t to MUW reader “Single Snowflake” for the CS link.

Filed under: Bars, Food & Drink, Going Out, New York City, News, NYC, Openings/Closings, Restaurants, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, UWS 3 Comments »
Tags: 1030 Amsterdam, 237 W 105, 237 West 105, Closed by Department Of Health, Department of Health, Dinastia China, DOH, Health Department, Hungarian Pastry Shop, New York City, NYC, NYC DOH, restaurant grades, Upper West Side, UWS