(This story has been updated to include more information and comment from the owner)
Less than a week after the Food Network featured Indianapolis’ historic Steer-In restaurant, the eatery was closed by the Marion County Public Health Department for a string of health code violations.
A fluorescent green paper taped to the Steer-In’s front door around midday Tuesday stated the restaurant was “closed to protect public health and safety,” citing four violations of Title 410 of the Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) 7-24 (Retail Food and Sanitation Requirements). Per the notice, at the time of inspection Steer-In was in violation of 295, 413, 415 and 416.
Steer-In co-owner and general manager Kasey Kehrer told IndyStar the restaurant, located in a decades-old building on the Near Eastside, had an infestation of mice as temperatures dropped outside.
“We’re doing what we can,” said Kehrer, whose family has operated the Steer-In since 2007. “We’ve got an old building. We’re taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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The restaurant appeared on Jan. 3 on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: Triple D Nation,” in which host and chef Guy Fieri revisits places he has featured in the past. Fieri last stopped at the popular eastside eatery in March 2011.
Why did the Steer-In close?
State law requires that health departments do not publish reports, which are publicly available, until 10 days after the inspection date. For most health code sections, violations can be critical or non-critical. Critical violations are more likely to result in food contamination and more likely to result in the closure of a restaurant.
Per 410 IAC 7-24, section 295 covers the cleanliness of utensils and food-contact surfaces; section 413 requires that external openings of the restaurants are sufficiently protected from pests; section 415 covers pest control and section 416 requires the frequent removal of dead or trapped pests including insects.
When will the Steer-In reopen?
Kehrer told IndyStar the restaurant will be deep cleaned and renovated this weekend with the goal of reopening early next week, possibly Monday. In the meantime he apologized to customers, hoping they will return and support the restaurant when it reopens.
“We’re sorry to disappoint everybody, and we’re disappointed in ourselves,” he said. “We’ve been in the community a long time. We just hope people give us a second chance.”
Contact dining reporter Bradley Hohulin at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter/X @BradleyHohulin.
