DOH Allows Eateries to Resume Operations After Pest Treatment at Food Court

Two restaurants at the food court of Whaler’s Village in Kāʻanapali were granted permission to reopen after followup inspections were conducted by the state Department of Health.

Inspectors had issued red placards to Nikki’s Pizza on Aug. 31 for a “pest infestation,” and Joey’s Kitchen on Sept. 17 for a “roach infestation.” Nikki’s was approved to reopen on Sept. 17, and Joey’s Kitchen at Whaler’s Village was allowed to resume operations yesterday, according to online health inspection reports. 

In a statement issued by Joe’s Kitchen over the weekend, owners said, “The safety and health of our customers is of paramount importance and we believe we have done everything possible to eliminate the infestation, but because Whaler’s Village itself has not done their own part to clean their maintenance room where one of the neighboring facilities received their ice, the infestation spread to our own facility, despite our own monthly pest control.”

Department officials say they learned during a followup inspection on Sept. 21, that Whaler’s Village contracted a pest control company to conduct a pest bomb treatment of the entire food court. Maui Now reached out to the center via email, but did not receive a response at the time of this posting.

Joey’s Kitchen was allowed to reopen with certain stipulations: pest control treatment and monitoring must be conducted on a minimum weekly basis to ensure the pest population remains under control and, depending on the results after a month, possibly move to bi-weekly pest control measures. The business was also required to continue to clean areas underneath all kitchen equipment to remove any remaining food debris and grease accumulation.