By David Topping

Toronto Public Health’s Antoine Nikolopoulos has gotten back to us; he’s the Entertainment District’s Environmental Health Officer, and yesterday he inspected Second Cup’s 307 Queen Street West location after Kate Bowen spotted a mouse inside the store on Sunday morning and sent photos along to us.
First and foremost, Nikolopoulos concluded that the store has “adequate pest control.” (And Second Cup told us that they were immediately taking additional steps at that particular location to improve upon their existing system.) He noted that food stores like Second Cup are in general considered low risk, because most food is prepared elsewhere and shipped to the store. (Not like, say, Dumpling House.)
Nonetheless, the Queen and John Second Cup received only a conditional pass from Nikolopoulos as a result of one “crucial issue” (an issue that “present[s] an immediate health hazard” according to DineSafe’s website), three “significant issues” (“that present a potential health hazard” ), and one “minor” one (that “present[s] a minimal health risk”). The store, Nikolopoulos found, failed to ensure that food—ice—was not contaminated (crucial); failed to ensure that the handwashing basin was used only for handwashing (significant); failed to ensure, since the store’s dishwasher was not working, that they had an adequate alternate cleaning system for the glass cups being loaned to customers (significant); was without a working thermometer in a fridge that stored milk (significant); and had one floor that required cleaning (minor). Second Cup is required to fix the issues within 48 hours from the time of inspection, or will face a ticket and potential legal action.
Nikolopoulos told us that in an old building like the one that the Second Cup occupies, it’s nearly impossible to plug every possible hole—thus, the potential for a mouse to sneak in, Ratatouille-style. And about how frequently buildings have visitors like the one that Bowen spotted last Sunday at 2 a.m.? “You’d be surprised.”
Photo by newyork808.