COUNTYWIDE : Health Officials Close Restaurant

Complaints from three customers who said they became sick after eating at Buon Appetito Restaurant at the Channel Islands Harbor led county environmental health officials to close the Oxnard restaurant last month for 17 alleged code violations, authorities said Tuesday.

An inspector shut the restaurant down for about four hours July 17 after reportedly finding meat left at room temperature on preparation tables, raw chicken being cleaned in a hand-washing sink, steam table temperatures at unsafe levels, and utensils on the kitchen floor, which was caked with food soils and grease.

Owner Berto Matta was cited for allegedly impeding the inspection and not shutting down as ordered. Oxnard police were summoned to enforce the closure order.

Matta called the violations groundless Tuesday and contended that the inspector had a vendetta against him.

“These guys gave me hassles and problems when I opened the restaurant a year ago,” Matta said. “He cited us for food sitting on the floor when we just got a delivery. He got my Italian blood boiling, and I told him I wouldn’t close the restaurant.”

Matta was allowed to reopen the same night after correcting the cited violations.

A second restaurant, Chinese Food in The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, was also closed briefly on July 12 after an inspector found a backed-up kitchen floor drain overflowing with a greasy black liquid.

The restaurant was reopened when the drain was cleaned and repaired and the surrounding area sanitized.