DUMBO rejoice! Bubby’s is back.
Neighborhood pie enthusiasts — who feared they would no longer be able to get dessert with a view after the popular waterfront restaurant was shut down last week for health code violations — were happy to hear that Bubby’s is clean.
The popular Main Street eatery was shut down by the Department of Health on Feb. 23 when inspectors found 93 points worth of health code violations during a four-hour inspection of the restaurant.
A Health Department source told The Stoop that an inspector had found rat droppings and poorly stored food at Bubby’s. But owner Ron Silver insisted that the department — which had been on a rampage ever since a rat infestation at a Manhattan Taco Bell became an international story on the Internet — had shut him down unfairly.
“We run a clean ship,” said Silver, insisting that his restaurants has never had a problem with rats — “not ever.”
Silver did acknowledge that there were some legitimate violations, but added that it only took restaurant staff eight hours to bring the place back up to code.
“Conditions couldn’t have been bad enough for them to close me down if it only took us eight hours to fix everything,” Silver said.
Four hours for an inspection was also a little excessive, he added. “Inspections never take that long.”
Other restaurant owners around Brooklyn have also complained that the Health Department has been “over-reacting” since the Manhattan rat debacle.
One owner, who did not wish to be identified, told the Stoop, “It’s a Draconian department run by completely incompetent people. They’re overreacting.”
City health officials have insisted that all restaurants have been, and will continue to be, treated fairly during health inspections.
“Inspectors only cite violations that they see,” said a department spokesperson. “Our only mission is to enforce the Health Code and keep restaurants safe for customers.”
Bubby’s reopened on March 3 — the place was so clean that inspectors found not a single violation.
“We are going to go above what the Department of Health demands,” said Silver.
Now, let’s get some of that pie.
