The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

Sullivan cafe passes muster

The new Sullivan Café, which opened last semester, was recently inspected by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and received a perfect score with no violation points.

Until the inspection, the caf√© was operating with a temporary license. The inspection came in response to our school’s request for an operating permit, which was initiated last fall, according to Executive Director of Auxiliary Services Kenneth Waldhof. The Department of Health is required to inspect all new food service establishments.

The news comes Nearly a year after the Department of Health inspected five dining facilities on our campus, Montgoris Dining Hall, Jazzman’s Caf√© at the Library, Marillac Food Court, Faculty Club and the University Center Grill 155, with only one facility passing the inspection.

Montgoris Dining Hall racked up 36 points in the first inspection, Jazzman’s Cafe received 35 points, Marillac Food Court 32 points, and the Faculty Club 30 points-all of which are above the mandated 27 violation point maximum set by the city’s health code.

In a follow-up visit in April of 2006, the facilities were found in compliance with the Department’s rules and received minimal violation points.

According the Department of Health, “During inspections, these [trained] Sanitarians spend most of their time evaluating food workers’ practices, including the manner in which they receive and store foods, how they process foods, and the temperatures at which they cook, hold, and reheat foods.”

Although most of these criteria do not directly apply to the Sullivan Café, which offers salads, beverages, grab-and-go sandwiches, baked goods, and snacks, the Department also checked to see if proper signs are posted and if workers frequently wash their hands, among other things.

This, according to Kenneth Waldhof, Executive Directior of Auxiliary Services, is what caused four of the dining facilities to fail during last year’s inspection, not that the quality of the food served was being compromised due to improper handling.
“There might have been five or six items listed, but in one location where 36 points were assigned, 28 of those points were [because of] paperwork,” Waldhof said at the time.

The contruction of Sullivan Caf√© is one of three new additions to the St. John’s on-campus dining choices made this year by Sodexho, our school’s food service provider. The others were Taffner Field House’s “Caf√© a la Cart” and Jazzman’s Caf√© in St. Augustine Hall.

Sophomore Cameron McLinden has attended the new café and says that the recent inspection will make him more likely to eat there versus the other dining facilities on campus.

“It seems to me like it’s a perfect example of how this campus is improving drastically,” he said.

Some students, however, are still ignorant to the addition of the new café in Sullivan Hall.

“I’d definitely be more likely to eat there after hearing that [the Caf√© passed with a perfect score],” says Darnell Taylor, a junior communications major. “Now you just have to show me where this place is.”

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