For violating as many as 69 health codes, the restaurant is closed down by the city's health department to prevent food-borne illness.
- January 22, 2012
AceShowbiz -
New York City's health department said it closed Jay-Z's Club 40/40 restaurant on Thursday, January 19, just 24 hours after the rapper relaunched it in a star-studded celebration. Inspectors found a number of problems which put diners at risk, including refrigerators which were not set at the right temperatures.
The restaurant racked up a shocking 69 health-code violations. The fridge was supposed to be set at 41 degrees but the restaurant put it at 60, the workers were preparing the food with bare hands, and the hot food were simply not kept hot enough on the counter. Inside the fridge, it was found 50 pounds of raw chicken wings, five pounds of raw shrimp and 100 turkey burgers at risk. Staff also mixed salsa with his bare hands.
"If you have a walk-in place with food like this, you put a hell of a lot of people at risk," a source told the NY Post. "A night of dinner and dancing should not include the risk of contracting food-borne illness." The health department immediately closed the venue and prevented customers from dining there. The place could receive "C" grade, which is the lowest grade for hygiene a restaurant can receive in the city. A hearing would determine the grade next month.
The Club 40/40 was re-opened after $10 million renovations within 10 months. The last inspection done in March 2010 resulted in 39 violations for problems like improperly handled food and unsanitary conditions.
