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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A disagreement over food storage temperature is seeing a Champaign restaurant taking the county’s public health district to court.
Sooie Bros. Bar-B-Que Joint was cited for lack of essential refrigeration and was told to temporarily close on Thursday by the Champaign County Public Health District. However, the restaurant is refusing the order and has now lodged a complaint to the state and a lawsuit against the county.
“When you’re dead wrong, it’s time to fight,” said Alven Allison, Owner of Sooie Bros. Bar-B-Que Joint.
Sooie’s ownership is suing the Champaign County Public Health District and Director Sarah Michaels over claims of harassment. The beef all boils down to how Sooie’s decides to store their food.
The only failure in the inspection was regarding the use of a walk-in fridge. The public health district requires the use of a walk-in fridge to store food, but Sooie’s ownership disagrees. The owner said their rapid-cooling fridge meets and exceeds district requirements for reducing food temperatures, and that a walk-in fridge is simply not necessary.
“My fridge exceeds all that, its specs exceed that. They demand to go from 143 Fahrenheit down to 70 Fahrenheit within two hours. So that’s basically a 73-degree drop,” Allison said. “Then, they want you to go from 70 degrees Fahrenheit down to 41 Fahrenheit within four hours of that time. Our refrigeration does the exact same step from start to finish in two hours and 10 minutes.”
The suit against the public health district is currently scheduled for court in May, which will allow Sooie’s to remain open in spite of the order. On top of the lawsuit, Allison has also filed a formal complaint with the state.
WCIA reached out to the Champaign County Public Health District, and they said:
“Champaign-Urbana Public Health District conducts regular inspections to ensure food establishments comply with public health and safety standards.”
They would not comment on specific inspections, but all restaurant inspection reports are publicly available on their website.