Maplewood Suspends Business Owner's Food Establishment License

The Maplewood Township Committee and Board of Health suspended the food establishment license for a Maplewood business on Tuesday evening after an extensive hearing.

Township employees testified that Aiman Abujudeh, owner of Maplewood Market at 1835 Springfield Avenue, had violated numerous health, building and fire code regulations while operating his convenience store at Princeton Street and Springfield Avenue over the course of the last year.

His attorney Howard Lipstein of Springfield argued that Abujudeh had addressed each violation as it came up. Maplewood Township Prosecutor Annette DePalma countered that the business owner exhibited a pattern of behavior that showed no signs of improvement and that the drain he caused on the time and resources of Township employees was "dumbfounding."

The two attorneys argued their cases before a joint meeting of the Maplewood Township Committee and Board of Health, which are comprised of the same members.

Health Officer Robert Roe detailed health code violations dating back to January 2010 that included insects found in 20 cereal boxes, cereal being sold without the exterior box container and production information, fruit being sold without the producer's crates and information, expired manufacturer and sell-by dates on food, frozen food that had been thawed and then refrozen, and uncollected and improperly contained garbage.

Bill Conklin, the Town's fire inspector, noted that the business had been cited for  numerous fire code violations which had been remediated but that the owner still owed an outstanding fine regarding one violation. Bob Mittermaier testified as to building code violations—including illegal signage—that have yet to be addressed.

(Patch reported last week that Abujudeh had been arrested by Maplewood Police on two outstanding warrants—one for health code violations in East Orange and another for failure to appear at a hearing in Maplewood. Abujudeh posted bail and was released.)

Lipstein, the defendent's counsel, offered defenses ranging from the fact that Roe never actually had issued an unsatisfactory rating for the business and that a number of the summons against Abujudeh were awaiting hearing in Municipal Court later this month. Abujudeh also said that residents in the area had been dumping garbage behind his business over the summer.

Roe countered that he did issue the substandard "conditionally satisfactory" rating—and that he only did so because after each violation the business owner agreed to remove the garbage or destroy the food in question. Upon examination by Mayor Vic DeLuca, Roe noted that the repeated nature of the defendant's violations were of concern.

The suspension is not the harshest verdict the Township Committee could deliver: the hearing was called initially to consider revocation of Maplewood Market's food establishment license. As it is, Abujudeh will need to cease operations or remove all food items between October 15 through and including November 15. Vice Mayor Kathy Leventhal stated that the license will only be reinstated on the following conditions: abatement of fire and building code violations, payment of all outstanding fines, the enclosure of all garbage, the business owner's appearance at all court dates, and compliance with all Township recycling rules.

Township Counsel Roger Desiderio noted that Abujudeh will have to reapply for reinstatement and that all depatment heads will need to testify that "all regulations have been complied with and satisfied."

Mayor DeLuca noted that Abujudeh can still sell non-food items such as newspapers should he choose to remain open.