Thunder Bay restaurant operators welcome the District Health Unit's plan to require eateries to post the results of their most recent inspection.
City council voted Monday to approve a proposal that would mandate restaurants to display colour-coded letter grades at their entrances.
A grade of “A” would signify a higher score, while grades of B, C and D would represent progressively lower scores, reflecting that a health unit inspector had found more infractions.
The owners of several restaurants contacted today by tbnewswatch.com all indicated they support the plan.
“It’s good for the public to know what they’re coming into, what kind of establishment," said Joe Skehar of the Java Hut on Memorial Avenue.
"I don’t think there’s any problem with putting a letter up outside your establishment saying what you’re rated at.”
Skehar expects the scorecard system will benefit his own business as well.
“People see that high-quality standard and they’ll be happy with where they’re eating.”
He believes his restaurant “should have no problem getting an A.” He said health inspectors usually come by three or four times a year.
At one of Thunder Bay’s more upscale restaurants, Bistro One on Dunlop Street, owner Jean Robillard said he’s in complete agreement with the move.
“I think it’s a good idea for the community to know which restaurants are out there working harder than others.”
Robillard said he believes many customers aren’t aware that if they have concerns about food safety they can already access restaurant inspection results from the Health Unit.
The new plan, he said, “makes it above-board for everybody, it makes it a level playing field,” and gives diners a chance to make a more informed decision about where to eat.
Robillard added that he is confident the letter-grading system will be based on solid information, because health inspectors “are very thorough” when they come for a visit.
The owner of Deluca’s Family Restaurant on Cumberland Street said he agrees that “everything needs to be transparent because if you deal with food, heaven forbid that someone comes in and gets sick…”
Ted Deluca said he’d like to think that all restaurants “comply and do their due diligence” but he’s concerned that that is not the case. He recounted reports from a representative of a local cleaning company about conditions he has encountered in some premises.
“The guy … told me ‘I went to this place and, my God, and I went to that place and, my God’, and I go ‘but it’s a restaurant’ and he says ‘Yeah, well, not everyone complies.’ “
Deluca said if restaurant operators are negligent with regard to cleanliness, they shouldn't be allowed “to get away with it.”
He said his staff works hard to keep his restaurant clean, and the food it serves safe. When he goes to another dining establishment to eat, he said, he would like to be able to see the outcome of its most recent inspection.
"If everyone's gotta do it, then everyone's gotta do it. You can't be exempted."
