Home illegally selling takeout meals ‘busier than Boston Pizza’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/07/2018 (2822 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There were so many customers and so much traffic generated at a takeout food place in Inkster Gardens, more staff were recruited and there were collisions on the street.

One problem: it wasn’t a restaurant — it was a single-family home.

The house at 31 Petriw Bay is one of four residences — three in Winnipeg and one in Brandon — listed on the province’s latest public health protection reports of establishments convicted or closed for violations.

“There was so much traffic and there were kids playing here– there were three accidents with cars backing up and hitting another” – area resident who didn’t want to be named

The owner of 31 Petriw Bay was charged Sept. 28, 2017, with operating a food-handling establishment without a permit and failing to register before operating. For this, they were slapped Oct. 25 with a fine of $673.65 for each of the charges.

When reached, the homeowner, who didn’t give his name, denied selling food out of the house.

“We were just making food for friends,” he said.

Area residents said the house was an issue for more than a year, prior to the province’s orders.

Homeowners hired staff to meet demand

“It was a big problem,” said one resident, who didn’t want to be named.

“There was so much traffic and there were kids playing here — there were three accidents with cars backing up and hitting another. It started small, with 10 cars during the day, until there were 10 cars in half-an-hour.

“You know how many people go to Boston Pizza? Well, this was busier than Boston Pizza. It was crazy.”

As time went on, the home-based takeout became so popular, locals witnessed two people coming in early in the morning to help prepare the food.

“She hired a couple more workers because of the demand,” an area resident said.

“And then, another guy down the street, he sees how successful it was and he decided to make some money, too.”

Another area resident, who also didn’t want to be named, said: “Running a restaurant out of your home is just wrong. There was no place for friends who came over here to park.”

The issue reportedly came to an end after a city crew working in area asked residents why so many people were going to the house. Shortly after, public health inspectors came calling.

Other homes cited, too

Along with 31 Petriw Bay, the public health department also cited 23 Petriw Bay for operating without a permit and failing to register.

A residence at 98 Acadia Bay was also written up for the offences. As well, a home at 3-160 4 St. in Brandon received a fine of $673.65 for operating without a permit.

Ali Rana, a provincial public health standards specialist, said preparing and serving food from a home-based business for public consumption is prohibited.

Unlike restaurants, which have physical locations and are inspected at least once a year by public health inspectors, the province has no idea how many people are selling food out of their homes or where they are, he said.

Complaints from the public are usually the only way underground food takeout businesses are revealed, Rana said.

“It is starting to go up, in the number of complaints we receive,” he said.

“We ensure safe food to the public. When you have things not inspected and no certified food-handling person, the risk of food-borne illness outbreaks is great.”

Rana said the homes shut down in the past few months were all selling meals to go and not preparing food to be used at a restaurant or through a catering service.

According to a provincial website, the only exception for preparing food at home is “non-potentially hazardous food sold at a farmers market, flea market, craft sale or bake sale.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca