Cockroach, Other Health Violations Quickly Addressed at Sea Dog

A series of critical violations during a health inspection last month forced Health Agent Jamie Terry to close down for a day.

Terry identified ten health code critical food violations, which included cockroaches, cross-contamination risks and stale foods, as were identified in a report filed on July 19.

"I noticed cockroaches in two different locations," said Terry.

Closing the establishment immediately, Advanced Pest Solutions was called right away and came in to de-fog. A follow up on July 20 revealed that there were "no visible signs of cockroach activity, and all other health code violations have been corrected." Sea Dog re-opened less than 24 hours after it was closed.

"Pest control found roughly 50 cockroaches," said Terry.

Pest control sprayed at least two more times, and Terry's inspection on Aug. 9 found the restaurant in full compliance.

"It was a very good inspection on Aug. 9," said Terry.

Mike Minichello, operations director at the Northborough Sea Dog, visited the Board of Health meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 14, to discuss the response to the violations and offer an update.

Minichello added that a nail salon, which shares a back hallway and wall with the restaurant, had been preparing personal food, and left trashbags in the hallway, which may have contributed to bringing in the cockroaches.

As for the additional violations, Minichello accepted responsibility, and said, "We addressed those and dealt with the team and put education in place. Our eyes were taken off the ball, and we corrected it. We educated everyong and took necessary disciplinary action so it doesn't happen again."