Philippe the Original is open for business again after being temporarily closed when health inspectors found cockroaches on the premises.
“We passed the health department inspection with flying colors,” said Richard Binder, general manager at the venerable downtown Los Angeles eatery, famous for its French dip sandwiches. “We passed 100%. We’ve never had anything but an A grade.”
The restaurant was shut down after inspectors discovered evidence of cockroaches during a Wednesday visit that officials said was prompted by at least one citizen complaint.
Binder maintained that just one roach had been found, and “it was a baby.”
“But anything more than one, with them having a zero tolerance, they will shut you down,” Binder said.
Angelo Bellomo, director of environmental health for the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, declined to haggle over the exact number of vermin detected. He stressed that “even a couple of roaches could indicate a greater problem.”
“The cockroaches you can see are supplemented by other evidence that others are there,” Bellomo said. “The word infestation is not too strong.”
Binder said workers at the restaurant had spent “the last 40 hours scrubbing, painting and repairing walls … and we’re back stronger than ever.”
Bellomo acknowledged the restaurant typically receives high health inspection scores and generally has “a good compliance history.” But problems can occur even in the most fastidious establishments, he said.
Inspectors had to close Philippe’s for 48 hours to allow the pests to be removed, he said.
The restaurant reopened at 11 a.m. Friday, and by 11:30 a.m., customers had started to return, according to Binder.
“The operators have done a good job of aggressively solving this problem over the last couple of days,” Bellomo said.
Still, Binder said, it would “take a while” for patrons to return as word spread that the century-old restaurant had reopened.
“Some people said they heard media reports that we had closed for good,” Binder said. “Customers are happy that we’re back.”
— Ann M. Simmons
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