Bruegger’s reopens after health department re-inspection

Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery in Oakland reopened for business on Tuesday, after being ordered to close on Saturday by the Allegheny County Health Department.

During a health inspector’s visit on Saturday, the bagel shop, located between CHiKN and Stack’d on Forbes Avenue, racked up a total of 14 health code violations. There were two high risk, three medium risk, and three low risk food safety violations along with two low-risk general sanitation violations.

Two of the violations were cited as repeat violations. The location, which also was part of a customer data breach this past December, has been cited multiple times over the past four years due to storing bagel toppings like cream cheese and sliced tomatoes above acceptable holding temperatures, sometimes by as much as 11 degrees.

Bruegger’s had also been previously instructed by the county health department to replace their kitchen flooring, according to the inspection report, but they did not. The floor was deemed to have “reached the end of its useful life,” according to the inspection report. Other violations included chronic raw sewage backup in the basement of the building and mouse droppings in the back area.

An employee at Bruegger’s answered a call Saturday afternoon, but said a manager was unavailable to speak and did not respond to requests for comment. Later calls went unanswered.

On Tuesday, the health department allowed Bruegger’s to reopen after a follow-up inspection was completed. According to the report, the health inspector found the bagel shop to be “satisfactory” in all categories. 

An employee answered a call Wednesday morning and told The Pitt News there was no one present who could speak, before hanging up.