Inspector ‘sinks’ Terrace Diner

Bayside resident Jimmy Kaouris is proud of his Terrace Diner in Bayside, but he has a sink full of problems with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).
“They closed me down because the inspector said I needed another sink because it was 30 feet” Kaouris said, pointing to the food preparation “line,” in his newly-installed kitchen. “I told him to measure, because it was a lot less, but he refused.”
After months of reconstruction, the diner opened in early May, and was inspected on July 5. “The inspector spent a couple of hours in my place telling me how good we were doing, and then he ordered me to close,” Kaouris said, shaking his head. “He ran, literally ran, to his car and drove off,” he recalled, as he turned away another disappointed customer telling them, “We have a little plumbing problem.”
Kaouris and his partners took over the location, at 212-97 26th Avenue, in December of last year. “You should have seen what was here before - there were holes in the floor and you could see into the basement,” he said, during a tour of the kitchen. “We put in a whole new floor and replaced everything, soup to nuts,” he said.
“I’ve been in the business for 50 years and never had a place closed,” he went on, “It was like they were just looking for a reason to shut me down”
Not so, says DOHMH spokesperson Celina De Leon. “The diner failed inspection with 53 points on July 5 and multiple violations were found. 28 points is a failed inspection and results in closure.”
According to DOHMH rules, many “critical” violations are 28 points by themselves. A critical violation is defined as one that “cannot be remedied immediately.” A missing or non-functioning sink is a critical violation.
Some violations were easily correctable - a container of mashed potatoes was found to be below safe temperature, and was thrown out. “It’s a few pennies,” Kaouris said. And were it not for the sink violation, the diner would have passed.
On Monday, July 9, the diner was re-inspected but not allowed to reopen, even though it had only violations that totaled 13 points. “I had plumbers and electricians in here from the day I was inspected until just before they came back,” Kaouris said, with a trace of exasperation. He said, “They found five fruit flies - I had workers in and out of the delivery entrance all weekend.”
Kaouris is undaunted. “We’re getting state of the art bug lights, and hope for another inspection right away.” He admitted to being upset because, “My workers have been out for days and are starting to look elsewhere.”
He’s hoping for a speedy resolution. “We thought we did everything to make the Terrace Diner the best place there was,” Kaouris said. “After this, there won’t be any doubt.”