Inspector Checks Food Businesses After Irene

The owner of  had a surprise waiting for him when he went to work this morning compliments of Hurricane of Irene.

“There was a note on the door from the health inspector saying we were closed for business until further notice,” says Kirby Traub, who has run the popular Emmaus eatery for the past 15 years.

Traub typically opens to customers at 11 a.m. on Monday and heads to work for about 9 a.m. to get ready for the lunch crowd. The notice from the health inspector was there when he arrived.

About 15 minutes later, the health inspector returned and made a thorough check of Traub’s supplies, telling him to throw away between $400 and $500 worth of inventory, including things like potato and macaroni salad, chocolate milk, BBQ and soup.

Then Emmaus Health Inspector Garry Ritter cleared Traub for business and went on to perform similar checks up and down Main Street, according to Traub, who says he heard that pretty much everyone had losses from the lack of electricity. 

“For a small place like me,” Traub says, “that’s a lot of money. As far as spoilage is concerned, if it wasn’t in the freezer, it didn’t make it.”

Traub, who has been involved in food-related businesses all of his life (his family owned a grocery in Allentown since 1922), says that Irene’s impact on his business is the worst he has felt.

“It’s not like I am unfamiliar with perishables and stuff like that,” Traub says. “This is the first time we have lost product in 15 years and this is the first time the power has been off for this length of time.”

But, all in all, Traub says, things could have been worse, pointing out that Traub’s Doggies didn’t sustain any water damage from the storm. “We’re open for business today,” he says, “and we are quite busy. When you are least prepared for things, that’s when you are the busiest.”

Editor's Note: Emmaus Health Inspector Garry Ritter could not be reached for comment. Ritter, who is also the environmental field services manager for the City of Allentown, was supporting Allentown health inspectors in the field today in the wake of the power outages cause by Hurricane Irene.