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2 Hell's Kitchen Restaurants Briefly Shuttered for Rats and Roaches

By Gwynne Hogan | October 28, 2015 1:03pm
 Two Hell's Kitchen restaurants were shuttered by the Health Department for rats and roaches, according to records.
Two Hell's Kitchen restaurants were shuttered by the Health Department for rats and roaches, according to records.
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DNAinfo/Gwynne Hogan

HELLS KITCHEN — Two neighborhood restaurants were temporarily shut down by the Health Department for rats and roaches, according to city records. 

McQuaids Public House, an Irish bar and restaurant at 589 Eleventh Ave., and the Vintner Cafe, an Italian joint at 671 Ninth Ave., were forced to close their doors for several days last week, according to records. 

On Oct. 23, Health Department inspectors found evidence of a rats at the Vintner Cafe and temporarily barred the restaurant from dishing up its signatures sandwiches and salads. The cafe has been cited three times in the past for mice in the facility, but the rats were a new violation.

Vintner passed a subsequent inspection on Monday and was allowed to reopen with its grade pending, until further inspections prove it can keep its facility clean.

A manager at the cafe who would not give his name said the rats were only in a storage facility and that nearby construction had brought on the recent infestation. They've since hired an exterminator to take care of the problem, he said.

"There's not food there or anything," the manager said. "It was just that part. The rest was fine."

At McQuaids Public House, health inspectors found roaches during an Oct. 20 visit, marking the fourth time the vermin were seen in the eatery in two years, according to health department records.

It was allowed to reopen with a pending grade after three subsequent inspections found workers had cleared up the problem.

A worker at McQuaids declined to comment.