Roxborough Owner Speaks Out Against Citation

Residents who walked Ridge Avenue last week may have seen a glaring red-and white-striped sign on a familiar deli. On March 1, the Department of Licenses and Inspections served  a stop-work order for operating without a license.

Though Lenny himself wasn't happy, business returned to normal March 2.

"It's a new way by the city of getting money," owner Lenny Bracale said.

Licensing inspectors patrolled Ridge Avenue last week, Bracale sad. According to the notice, Lennies was shut down for "operating a deli without a food license" and "food preparation and serve license."

This week, Bracale showed off a file inches thick with the violations and corrections paperwork. Another paper stated he was allowed to proceed with business March 1. The business must pay to be re-inspected after correcting its violations and may have to pay more with court costs. Bracale said the process of dealing with bureaucracy has left him "feeling burned out...

"How do you know that you are getting a fair shake on inspection?" Bracale asked.

Past Run-in

Bracale believes he was targeted after he had a verbal altercation with a health inspector. According to Bracale and another witness, the incident occurred on Jan. 22, the day of the AFC championship game. The business was busy with many take-out orders and sit-in customers. Staff, including Bracale, were working filling orders.

A health inspector walked in. Bracale asked for proper identification, which Bracale said offended him. After he produced the proper identification, Bracale asked the inspector to wait until the walk-in customers were finished. The inspector demanded that the inspection take place immediately.

"I'm not going to be bullied," Bracale said. "I probably could have handled it more professionally but we were very busy and (the inspector) was being unreasonable."

After the disagreement, the inspector left. According to Bracale, he sent out an employee to bring in the inspector a few minutes later but the inspector refused.

Calls made to L & I were not immediately returned and the voice mail box for the health inspector was full.

The Roxborough eatery has operated on the Ridge for a number of years, formerly called Lenny's Home Plate Deli. Yelp rates the business favorably, and 94 percent of voters like it on Urban Saloon.

Bracale looks forward to future success for Roxborough, but wonders if he'll be a part of it. He said a store like will be a great draw to Ridge Avenue, but his dealings with the city and the work he puts in makes him reevaluate the shop.

"I'm so frustrated that I am ready to pack it in. I'm ready to do something different," Bracale said.