Sonic reopens with rapid response to sink snafu

WHERE BOERNE EATS: A CLOSER LOOK

EDITOR’S NOTE: Star intern Joel Morris meets every week with Kendall County Health Inspector Brenda Bell and her staff, to bring us our newest feature, “Where Boerne Eats: A Closer Look.”

It only took 24 hours for a local fast-food restaurant to address concerns raised during an inspection, allowing it to reopen the following day.

The Sonic Drive-In at 121 W. Bandera Road, voluntarily closed on July 16 after a three-compartment sink was found to be non-operational during a routine inspection by the Kendall County Health Office.

The health office has certain violations that merit the closing of a shop, as they see it as unsafe for the restaurant to serve the public. Working sinks are essential to public safety as a section of the health code states, “Equipment, food-contact surfaces and utensils shall be cleaned between uses with raw produce and TCS (time-temperature control for safety) food.” ure d.”

Star photo by Jeff B. Flinn With no way to clean equipment, it’s unsafe to continue to serve food.

Sonic wasted no time in correcting the issue. Inside of 24 hours, management and staff fixed the sink, leading to a shining 92 on their July 17 follow-up inspection.

Sonic opened for business the next day and returned to serving the drive-thru food it’s best known for.

Management and staff were able to quickly address three lesser violations cited on the initial inspection — air vents needing cleaned; hot dogs below 135 degrees for a hot hold; and equipment and prep areas needing cleaned — within the same time frame.

The health office noted all issues as resolved with the nextday inspection, registered the restaurant “in compliance,” and cleared the way for the restaurant to reopen without further delay.

Any questions or concerns about health inspections can be addressed to the Kendall County Health Office at 830-249-9343.