The TWA Hotel's Food Court Was Shut Down Over Health Violations
After a first few days marred by teething problems, the newly-opened TWA Hotel at New York's JFK airport has just encountered another issue. The hotel's food court, inspired by New York's street-food vendors, was recently ordered to shut down after the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene discovered numerous violations related to food prep and storage.
After a two-day closure, the food court reopened on Friday, the Queens Patch reported.
According to the Department, the food court racked up five violations including storing hot food at below 140 degrees, serving food from unknown or unapproved sources, a lack of facilities to wash or sanitize equipment and utensils, a lack of protection for food storage, and improperly constructed surfaces. That resulted in 73 violation points in a recent inspection, as the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene site showed on Saturday. (Lower scores are better; above 28 points, the department shutters an establishment.)
The food court is located in the Hughes Wing of the TWA Hotel, to the left in the image below, shot overlooking the entrance. Listed on the hotel's website as "Departures Hall Dining", the food court is located on the side of the historic terminal opposite of the front desk. It serves fare from local New York City restaurants and vendors.
Notable tenants at the food court include The Halal Guys, Empanada Republic, Antico Noé, and Fresh & Co.
The TWA Hotel was one of the most anticipated new hotel openings of 2019. It officially opened on May 15th, and while the soft open clearly showed that several aspects of the hotel were not ready, the hotel currently holds a 4.3 out of 5 on Google Reviews and 3 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor -- indicating generally favorable reviews.
For more on the TWA Hotel, read our account of the hotel's first night of operations and check out a video tour of the hotel, which promises to become a major attraction for aviation enthusiasts once its initial problems are fixed.