HOUSTON — It’s the answers we all want to know: What’s up with the restaurants? Are they open, and are they safe?
Some places like Surya India in Rice Military have passed the test, so they’re open Friday, but some restaurants are closed.
The big message from Houston Health Department is don’t drink from any soda fountains or use any ice made under the water boil notice, even if the restaurant tells you "it's filtered."
It’s a different story wherever you stop.
Restaurants and food joints across Houston are deciding how to deal with the boil water notice. Places like Sweetgreen in Montrose decided to shut their doors completely. Across the street, JuiceLand is open but serving a limited menu.
For Romano’s Pizza in River Oaks, it's pretty much business as usual.
“We boil the water, and after we boil the water, we put it in the refrigerator and let it cool off. That’s how we wash all our produce and all that," Frank Fragale said.
Fragale said it’s an extra step, but it’s worth it.
“You have to protect your customers. That’s the main thing for us, to make sure that we protect our customers," Fragale said.
The Houston Health Department sent out flyers to their thousands of restaurants, telling them the exact steps they need to be taking:
- Providing alternative sources of drinking water, bottled or brought in
- Boiling your water for two minutes before you use it in food or on fresh produce
- Using a heat sanitizing dishwasher
- Providing hand sanitizer for customers after they wash their hands with soap and more
Health Department sanitarians are ensuring that’s happening, stopping by hundreds of restaurants on Friday and even putting quarantine tags on all ice machines and soda fountains.
“They can ask them, where is this ice coming directly from? And where is my soda being dispensed from? That way, they know that they’re out of harm's way," said Christopher Sparks with the Houston Health Department.
La Mexicana in Montrose shut its doors after a visit from the health department, saying it was a tough decision, but the water boil would make it too hard for them to operate.
The Health Department said if you’re eating out today or tonight, take that responsibility to ask the restaurant what they’re doing to be safe. If you’re not comfortable with their response, maybe find somewhere else to eat.
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