MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS — A soul food restaurant that has boasted President Bill Clinton as a diner was closed by the health department last week for for a host of violations, the agency said.
Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too was closed by the Department of Health on Aug. 20 for infractions ranging from improper refrigeration to bad plumbing, the DOH said.
Norma Jean Darden, the owner of the West 110th Street restaurant, said a repairman was on his way to fix one of the walk-in refrigerators when the health inspector arrived.
The inspector discovered that the broken fridge was at 45 degrees, not the required 41 degrees, and so tossed the 68 items it held, totaling $1,000, said Darden.
The restaurant also had to pay that amount in a fine, she said.
"We didn’t have a fly in here. Everything was clean, but our refrigerator was four degrees off. It was such a setback," said Darden.
The refrigerator is now fixed and if Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too passes inspection Tuesday morning, they'll reopen, she added.
The restaurant has not yet been cleared to reopen, an agency spokesman said.
The restaurant, modeled on Darden's mother's Alabama kitchen, has been open for 20 years, she said.
Taking the long view, Darden told DNAinfo: "It was just bad timing. Hopefully this too shall pass."
During the inspector's visit, the restaurant racked up 63 violation points for insufficient refrigeration equipment, not cooling food by an approved method, and improperly installed or maintained plumbing, among others.
Subscribe to DNAinfo's Upper West Side podcast:
