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City could shut venerable Medical Area wrap stand because, after 33 years, inspectors realized it has no wheels
By adamg on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 10:50am
The Crimson reports ISD has given Sami's a month to either install plumbing or shut down, because inspectors have determined the stand at Longwood and Avenue Louis Pasteur is not mobile and therefore falls under the city building code, which requires permanent plumbing. Sami's landlord, Harvard, says it has no plans to help Sami's out by running pipes out to the stand, the Crimson reports.
Save Sami's petition - or, at least, donate to buy them a truck (Ed. note: Maybe they could team up with the lady from the Beacon Hill Mexican-food place).
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Comments
33 years... this is not what
33 years... this is not what buildings codes suppose to be about...
it's not building code, it's HEALTH code
And "have a sink for employees to wash their hands" is pretty basic health safety.
Building code exists for the same reason health code does: PUBLIC HEALTH. You do realize that people in Longwood are most likely to interact with sick people, right? And sick people are more likely to be in the longwood area?
So what about the canteen truck that parks across the street?
It's on wheels, so apparently it doesn't need permanent plumbing. Doesn't mean Sami's is any more germ-ridden just because they stupidly didn't realize a few decades ago they should have slapped some wheels on their trailer.
Or
The food stands in DTX?
Pretty sure they make these things called gloves that are used for food prep when a sink isn't present.
With that many epidemiologists eating there ...
One would think that any problems with sanitation and any outbreaks of foodborne illness would have received more attention than a puppy in a 3rd grade classroom, no?
Both the ISD and Harvard....
... look _real_ bad here.
really? Explain how.
Explain how a business was in violation of basic health code and it's the responsibility of the landlord to help them, suddenly?
I think you all are just in denial about how disgusting it is that for 33 years, the person who makes your wraps and handles all your money+change hasn't been able to wash her hands, or the counters, or the cooking utensils.
How do you know they haven't?
There are other ways to clean up besides permanent running water - or we wouldn't have food trucks roaming around (or, for that matter, those food carts in Downtown Crossing or even farmer's markets anywhere). And I'd think if any area would be particularly attuned to health problems, it'd be the medical area.
I'd be more sympathetic to the "get-a-lawyer-you-bum" crowd if this were some department other than ISD we're talking about here. This is the department that is constantly "forgetting" to tell people who want to open new restaurants that they need a license from the Boston Licensing Board, which those people find out only when police stop by and ask to see their common victualler's license and then they get shut down, because they didn't think to hire some fancy lawyer in a downtown skyscraper to help them navigate the byzantine world of Boston business permits (why do would-be restaurant owners have to go to both 1010 Mass. Ave. and City Hall to get all the permits they need?).
Mayor's protestations aside, this is not a city that makes it easy to open a small business like a food stand. And this place has been open more than three decades, surely they deserve some slack (granted, ISD did give them a bit more time to figure out a fix).
Bzzzzzt
"I'd be more sympathetic to the "get-a-lawyer-you-bum" crowd if this were some department other than ISD we're talking about here."
http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/genetic
And not having plumbing is
And not having plumbing is less disgusting in a mobile food truck?
I'm sure they have a way to clean their hands without plumbing, either with sanitizer or a tank sink.
I alwasys take seriously the comments of ....
... anonymous, cowardly, big-mouthed trolls.
Not.
An awful lot of "facts" being assumed here with no evidence at all. How do you know what sort of water supply this business has?
Bzzzzzt
http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ad-hominem
Miki?
Is that you?
I will never attempt to open a business in Boston.
I'm sure lots of people feel this way.
I'm sure lots of those people
I'm sure lots of those people don't even live near Boston.
For the rest of us, some people evidently manage to make it past the hyperbole of free-market worshippers and turn a profit without having to grease palms or bend over backwards. Otherwise this city wouldn't even be here.
Is there a lot of backwards thinking and crap going on? Sure. Is it exclusive to Boston? Massachusetts? New England? The United States? Of course not.
Hmm...
Roberta Heinlein once opined that when your government had descended to nothing more than petty little rules that micro-managed you, you had a real problem...
Wouldn't it be easier and
Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just add wheels to the cart?
Paint 'em on!
Cheap 'n easy
This was my first thought
I looked at the City of Boston Code for "Mobile Food Trucks" and it's defined as:
The last part just regards the fact that it can't both be a mobile food truck but also pay fees as if it's something else (CBC 18 is all about permit costs).
I've highlighted the relevant part. I'm not sure whose legal definition of "vehicle" they're using is. It seems like if you just tied a toy truck to the front of the place and mounted a tire on each corner of the "building", you'd pass as if it were just a big hot dog cart up on blocks ("Sure, it doesn't go anywhere very fast, but give it time.").
Also, it appears that for whatever reason, this is all coming to light now simply because it was 2011 when the "Mobile Food Truck" law passed pushing places like this into either fitting that category or fitting some sort of building designation. Of course, before now, it was still a building...so I don't know why the whole "no plumbing" thing wasn't already an issue under the laws as they existed in 2010.
I don't know what's under the skirt at the Campus Trolley down the road at BU, but they might want to keep their ears to the ground on this one.
"donate" to a private business?
First it was Tosci's who wanted people to "donate" to help them pay the decades of back taxes they'd cheated US out of - 5% extra profit for them.
Now it's a lunchstand that exploited an oversight by inspectors and has been in violation of basic health code (no facilities to allow employees to wash up? Or wash down implements and surfaces? Seriously?) and wants us to "donate" to help them buy a truck?
What is it with this begging mentality? GET A SBA LOAN LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
Also: this isn't a "ISD came by the other day and said we had to shut down this week":
"During a routine check in March..."
"The small business was initially given until Friday to stay open unless it made changes but was granted a 30-day extension on Thursday after G. Sami Saba, who owns the stand with his wife Amy, went to City Hall to seek a reprieve."
Hey people, protip: if ISD finds something that could shut you down, HIRE A LAWYER AND START GETTING QUOTES AND WORKING UP BACKUP PLANS. Which do not include "last-second trips to city hall to plead" and "begging for donations for a food truck."
That hunk of real estate is absolutely PRIME for foot traffic and Sami's has been (or should have been) raking it in for years. They can afford to buy a food truck, or the space should go to someone who can play by the rules.
Protip:
It's called Kickstarter, pal. Look it up.
Another protip: Follow the money. Who stands to benefit if Sami's is moved out? Harvard? Another vendor looking at space nearby? Who determined 33 years after the fact that Sami's deserved priority?
Sounds like somebody with a dog in this hunt. I'll go with the street meat vendor over a blue-shirted, buttoned-down bottom liner who plays internet tough guy. What's the matter, pal? You and the boys invest in a Chipotle franchise that doesn't have the juice to make it in Longwood? Pobre.
Sami's has run a successful business for 33 years. All you're running is your mouth. If I were Sami's, I wouldn't pay a cent of interest on an SBA loan.
This is why
This is why I refuse to eat at food trucks, food carts, or other non-traditional food businesses, unless the food is pre-packaged (Popsicles, chips, etc.)
The hygiene practices in many eating establishments with full plumbing and facilities leave much to be desired. How would a truck/cart that's already disadvantaged by a lack of plumbing be able to keep up?
Someone in the Harvard/LMA community should give them preference for a building lease or in-house food vendor site, though. There are so many hospital and school food courts down that way.
Longwood Food Court
They had a location in the Longwood food court for years, but I think about a year and half ago they cut that location to focus on the stand.
The stand and also the JP restaurant
Which was recently renamed when Sami's son took it over full time.
In a food cart, you can see
In a food cart, you can see exactly what the chef is doing, and how he is preparing the dishes and maintaining hygiene. It's all out in the open.
You can't exactly say that about restaurants.
Yes you can
You might not get to stick your head in the kitchen area, but you do get to see the Health Department certification on the wall. You must be much taller than me, because I can't see inside any food truck preparation area.
I agree with Saul.
You know these guys are always in the open and can't be doing dirty things in front of people.
I want to know who is getting fired from ICS for not noticing this the past 33 years. What happened to the inspection last year? Or in 2002, or 1997? Are these written down somewhere and kept as records?
Cry me some Purell tears
In just about every city in the country, street vendors make this work. When I worked down near Wall Street, the Halal cart guys were able to clean their hands just fine without plumbing. Don't blame the vendors for your ignorance.
By the way, I'm guessing your antibody deficiency must be pretty impressive. In Mr. Zimmerman's words, it's a wonder that you still know how to breathe.
Germaphobe
have it your way.
Just be weary that even eating good old sanctioned bread from the store that you're eating crushed insects, especially weevils and rat feces.
Eat organic? You're eating a hell of a lot of bug matter!
Want to talk about meat and slaughterhouse conditions?
Women that wears makeup? Anything red or pink, the dye is made from crushed beetles. So pucker up doll, that lipstick looks fantastic!
There's logical and appropriate levels of sanitation for food prep, and then there's just ignorance or unwarranted fear. I'd be more worried about how that hotdog or slice of choice cut meat was cut in a industrial slaughterhouse that are more frequently policing themselves, than the prep at a food stand which typically knows the rules and has the eye of Sauron (ISD) on them.
I've seen more issues of food and ecoli poisoning from home food products than stories of improper food prep from carts and food trucks.
Is that the green thing on
Is that the green thing on the circle by Vanderbilt Hall when you look at the area with Google Maps? This guy has been running a successful business for 33 years and he doesn't have the ability to get a loan for that business? Really?
Yeah, cuz loans are awesome
You get to deal with banks, which as we know from today's news are totally infallible. You get to pay a ton of interest. You get to have debt hanging over your head forever. Great stuff. Really. Not at all what led to the financial crisis.
I'm going to donate to the family just out of spite at this point.
while I agree
with your sentimate...
Personal finances != business finances.
Debt isn't some evil thing, and running debt as a business is not a bad thing unless it's done improperly. It's part of running a successful business.
That said, sure a loan might not be in their interest, especially for such a small operation.
To the people clamoring about
To the people clamoring about lawyers: This is a small basically a small sandwich shop. They have been in business for 33 year already. What can a lawyer really do here? Cost thousands of dollars for the chance they can argue an exception? Might as well go to a casino.
For the point about health codes: Seeing that it served the area for that long without anyone complaining (and I would imagine someone would complain if they got really sick or died from the shop), I would imagine that they have served just fine without running water. Are we going to live in so much in fear that you want to clamor the shut down of a place that thousands of customers over the 33 years with seemingly no issue from its patrons? If the patrons all seem happy and since I haven't heard of anyone getting sick or dying, why do you want to give so much concern on behalf of such customers?
For the people screaming about Small Business Loans: What's wrong with asking their long time customers to help them out? The donation is completely voluntary. They are appealing to their customers and anyone interested to help them out. What good are you making calling them to go into debt if they can acquire the funds through a different means? Privates businesses like a friggin' sandwich stand are not the same as JPMorgan. There's a community factor even though they are not a non-profit. One can make the argument they mean much to the local community and serve much more than many non-profits (*cough* Kony 2012 *cough*) who is known to pocket huge percentages and only a small portion actually to the target where we never get to see the result. Then there's also the concept of Kickstart which previous commentators have already pointed out.
The biggest reason to donate, unlike donating for someone who doing tax evasion, is they been doing just fine for 33 years. The theoretical concept of codes like the code for running water is to protect the people from dying by poorly prepared food. However, they been doing it for 33 years and it seems no one died or complained about unsanitary conditions. This seems to indicate that enforce of the rule now is just denying the livelihood of a family rather than protecting us from danger. Thus, donating to this man can be seem as donating to help a good cause against an injustice. This is how it differs from the guy asking donation from tax evasion where you can argue it stems from selfishness and lack of good faith (though people can also makes mistakes on tax reporting too, but it seems much less likely and for the sake of argument, this is not the point)
So have any of the people
So have any of the people commenting here actually eaten at Sami's? I got lunch there pretty regularly for five years and the food quality was always excellent, as was the service. As others have said, you can see everything that's going on as the food is prepared. It's a small, family-owned business that serves good, cheap food and is a huge part of the Longwood Medical community. I'd be sad to see it shut down.
Follow the money?
Has Sami's truly never received any kind of notice from ISD or any other city agency concerning their legality? Have they never received any business license for 33 years? Is their stand cloaked from the sensors of government officials? Perhaps they a selective cloak of invisibility convers their stand and waiting customers when city officials are near?
Or perhaps there is a food truck vendor who would like to park their vehicle nearby? This vendor might have had a conversation with the mayor and then a week or two later made a nice campaign contribution in 2012 - with another due in 2013, when the mayor runs for re-election. If Sami's owner made a contribution to the mayor's campaign fund then suddenly some grandfathering exception might be found.
What have I learned about Boston city government where businesses are concerned? To play you have to pay. Contribute to the mayor's re-election (or contribute thousands in food donations - but don't forget to buy the one day license as Boloco learned) to get cooperation from agencies such as ISD. If as a business owner or manager you need to do any road or building work then you have to pay city police and firefighters graft, ah sorry, detail money, or else you can't do the work or get the permits needed to do the work.
I used to think that Tammany Hall politics were a thing of the past. Now I realize that they have simply been sanitized, codified and legitimized.