By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
INWOOD — Another popular Upper Manhattan restaurant was shut down Tuesday by the health department after failing a routine inspection.
John's Fried Chicken, a small fried food joint at 512 West 207th Street, was closed after receiving 82 violation points during an April 19 inspection.
The violations ranged from improper food refrigeration and heating, inadequate hand washing facilities in the food preparation areas, tobacco use in the food area and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
Tuesday's health department closure was not the first for the restaurant, which has failed three inspections since 2008, with a failure in December 2008 when it received 61 violations points, March 2010 with 52 points, and September 2010 with 47 points, according to the Health Department website.
Owners of the restaurant were not reachable by phone.
The closure of John’s comes days after popular Chinese food restaurant Empire Szechuan in Washington Heights was closed for two days earlier this month after failing its inspection with 97 violation points.
Kenny's Bakery on Dyckman Street was also shut down on April 8 for 10 days after receiving 52 points in an inspection. The bakery reopened Monday after receiving an A on its inspection with 5 violation points.
The Health Department did not immediately respond to a request for information about the latest sweep of inspections.
Residents in the area were disappointed that the longtime Inwood restaurant had shuttered its doors and hoped to see it reopen soon.
"John Fried chicken shut down now?," tweeted Twitter user Stackteam, who said he had been told the restaurant had closed because of "Lent." "smh (shaking my head) Food was slamming!"
