SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio restaurant featured on the Food Network television show 'Restaurant Impossible' has closed its doors.
Mama Lee's Soul Food located at 6060 Montgomery on the Northeast Side just failed a health inspection about two weeks ago with 42 demerits. It reportedly closed during the same time period.
- The inspector reported seeing a live roach and some dead ones.
- The inspector also spotted rodent droppings.
- There were also multiple violations related to kitchen cleanliness.
Mama Lee's Soul Food located at 310 Valley Hi on the Southwest Side remains open with a different owner.
That owner notified KSAT Behind the Kitchen Door of the closure of the Mama Lee's restaurant on Montgomery.
KSAT contacted the host of 'Restaurant Impossible' about the closing of Mama Lee's.
Chef Robert Irvine and his team spent two days and $10,000 to redecorate, retrain and attempt to revitalize the business.
Irvine tells KSAT via Twitter: "That's very, very sad to me. We try our best to give the tools and physical plan to deliver a great product, but nothing is ever guaranteed. It's up to the owner and staff to keep up what we put in."
Cocula Jalisco Restaurant located at 4849 Roosevelt Avenue failed their inspection with 37 demerits. The list of violations included:
- Improper hand washing by employees.
- No guidelines for safe food handling.
- Numerous dead roaches were observed.
The owner tells KSAT Behind the Kitchen Door pest control had been there the night before the inspection and that's why dead bugs were seen inside the restaurant.
The following restaurants received perfect scores during their latest inspection from Metro Health:
- Andrea's Barbacoa & Tacos on Babcock.
- The Cheesecake Factory at The Shops at La Cantera.
- Chick-fil-A on Southwest Military.
- The San Antonio Food Bank community kitchen.
For a list of recent stories Mark Austin has done, click here.
