T&B's owner: Food poisoning not true

The restaurant quickly reopened the next day once the owners remedied problems such as improper sanitation and food handling.

The owner of T&B's, Mitchell Haake, said the hasty closure could force him to shut his doors permanently because customers no longer eat there.

"The health department caused the problem," Haake said. "We only had little problems which we fixed. It's very unfair -- we've been here for 15 years and now we've lost almost all our business."

But health officials maintain that the closing was justified. Dean Peterson, director of the County Environmental Health Department, said although Haake's loss of business is unfortunate, health inspectors took necessary precautions.

Peterson said that inspectors allowed the restaurant to reopen, and that he is confident that the violations were remedied. He added that the department initially looked at the case suspiciously because the first calls they received were from a basketball team which ate there.

"But later we got four distinct groups who reported sickness," Peterson said. "The only thing they had in common was that they ate at T&B's."

Peterson said there is no way to be 100 percent conclusive that it was a case of food-borne illness, but since there were 29 reports, the department felt it was necessary to close the restaurant.

But Haake says there is no evidence of food poisoning.

"We had 600 people in here and 30 got sick. That's five percent of our customers," he said. "It's very unfair. The food poisoning never happened."

The health department cited the restaurant for several violations, including improper hand washing; cross-contamination of raw meats and cooked foods; and improper sanitation of kitchen utensils, cutting boards and towels.

Peterson said the main concern, though, was the restaurant's lack of a state-certified food handler and that the health department gave T&B's ample warning to acquire a food handler.

"We went there in June and told them they needed a certified food handler, but they did not comply," Peterson added. "They were given every opportunity."

Peterson said the individual violations are not what led to the closure, but the whole package.

He said the restaurant's history also added to the closure. Since 1991, Peterson said, there were 10 reports of food-borne illnesses from patrons of T&B's -- much higher than average.

In an average three-month period, the county health department receives 25 reports of food borne illnesses out of 3,500 businesses.

"We rarely see repeat incidents and if we see a trend continually, that sends up a red flag," Peterson said.

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