Fish Owner Questions Health Inspection

The food served at Fish Restaurant has never placed anyone in harms way and never will, said owner George Voyiatzis in response to a recent health inspection which cited 19 violations.

“I take it very seriously. Very seriously. It’s not a joke,” said Voyiatzis of food safety measures at the restaurant he has owned since 2002. “You don’t do them because or not because of an inspector. We do them to be safe."

The restaurant has never had any issues with health inspections prior to this year's February 20 inspection in response to a report of possible food poisoning, he said. Voyiatzis grew up in the restaurant industry and is sanitation-certified in state of New York as an instructor as well as having been a director of operations for a big service chain responsible for multiple units in California.

“It’s not what I wake up to do - put the public in danger — especially our guests. And I never felt we were doing that,” said Voyiatzis who took issue with some of the 19 violations that were listed for the restaurant.

Among those violations he raised objection to were two that related to his child coming back to see him while the inspection was occuring — which Voyiatzis says would not have happened under any other circumstances. He also took issue with violations stemming from some protocols that were cited — including requiring employees only drink out of containers with straws which he said can lead to contamination.

Some of the other issues, including a repair that was underway to some equipment, had no direct impact upon any food, said Voyiatzis.

He worked over night to address the violations regardless of whether he agreed with them, he said.

“Valid or invalid, in my opinion, it was addressed,” said Voyiatzis. “I definitely had issues with it but I let it go."

The restaurant was inspected the following day with no violations, according to Board of Health records.