Clayton Coffee Shop Passes Inspection After Three Complaints

Following multiple complaints to the St. Louis County Health Department about the hand washing practices of a specific employee, a Clayton eatery earned a perfect score on its most recent restaurant inspection.

Three Java Plus customers, who submitted the complaints anonymously but indicated they lived or worked nearby, said a female employee handles several food items with bare hands, or the same pair of protective gloves. Hands that handled money were not washed before going back to prepare food, according to the complaints. Two stated they felt that verbal comments to the manager weren’t taken seriously.

“I used to eat at the Java Plus very often until their new hire,” one person wrote. “She made my salad and when she took my debit card from me to pay she had feta cheese and dressing all over her fingers. She noticed I looked at her fingers and she continued to tell me that her hands get so dirty that every night she has to clean under her nails. I instantly threw my salad directly in the trash.”

A second person stated the employee, who was sick at the time, onced coughed into a glove and continued handling food and money without changing it out.

“I have seen her reach into the trash can to dig out a receipt for someone to sign then go back to preparing food without washing her hands or replacing both of her gloves,” the third person wrote. 

While these observations have been passed along to management, the first person said a return visit didn't yield a better result.

"[The employee] told me someone had complained about her and that [t]he manager called her laughing about it," according to the complaint.

An inspector visited Java Plus on Jan. 14, and determined that there was a lack of evidence toward the allegations. The complaints were closed, and the restaurant received a perfect inspection score.

The health inspector did leave materials on employee hand washing, glove use and hygiene at the restaurant, according to the inspection report.

Editor's note: St. Louis County Health Department restaurant inspections are available to the public on the St. Louis County website.