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Bobo Restaurant Closed by Health Department

By Andrea Swalec | August 17, 2011 1:10pm | Updated on August 17, 2011 6:23pm
Health inspectors hit the chic West Village restaurant Bobo with 62 health violation points on Saturday, Aug. 13, forcing it to close.
Health inspectors hit the chic West Village restaurant Bobo with 62 health violation points on Saturday, Aug. 13, forcing it to close.
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MANHATTAN — Health inspectors hit the chic West Village restaurant Bobo with 62 health violation points on Saturday, forcing it to close. 

The Health Department found flies, evidence of mice and improperly washed surfaces that come in contact with food at the 181 W. 10th St. restaurant, according to the city's website

Bobo was also cited for not preventing workers from touching with their bare hands food that would not be cooked afterward.

A spokeswoman said the restaurant reopened on Tuesday evening. 

Owner Carlos Suarez said Bobo will toe the line from now on.

“The New York City Health Department temporarily closed Bobo on Saturday night due to select health code violations," Suarez said in a statement. "The restaurant, which re-opened on Tuesday after further inspection, is deeply committed to complying with the DOH codes."

Bobo received a warning from the Health Department earlier this summer, when it racked up 38 violation points in a June 4 inspection, earning it a C grade. Inspectors cited the eatery at the time for evidence of mice, as well as cold foods being kept at temperatures that were too high. 

Under the restaurant grading system the city introduced in July 2010, establishments with 28 or more violation points receive a C grade. The Health Department immediately closes restaurants with "conditions that may be hazardous to public health," according to its website.

Suarez opened Bobo in 2007, inspired by "the joy of having friends over for dinner," according to Bobo's Tumblr page

New York magazine gave the restaurant top marks and called it a "frenetically voguish ... triumph of style over substance." 

Bobo's closure may not bode well for the new restaurant Suarez has on the way in the Village.

A representative of Bobo told DNAinfo in February that the group would open a posh restaurant with a rooftop garden in the space previously held by the Village Party Store, which burned down in February 2010. 

Permits for the renovation of 18 Greenwich Ave. are active, city records show