By Joy Zhang ‘14

From family dinners to teen outings on a Friday night, Wasabi Zen has long catered to sushi lovers in Olney. The popular Japanese restaurant was shut down temporarily after numerous violations surfaced during a health inspection on September 25.

A few of the violations cited on the Food Service Facility Inspection Report included “food service worker performs cleaning and food cutting operations without washing hands between duties,” “produce is being rinsed off in mop sink” and “live roaches seen crawling on work surface of non-working refrigerator.”

In the report, inspector Ellen Smedley noted, “Due to unsanitary conditions, lack of adequate refrigeration to store products and roach infestation, the food service facility’s operating permit is suspended. A re-inspection is required prior to allowing facility to resume food service operations.”

Wasabi Zen closed for a night and the broken refrigerator was quickly replaced; Wasabi Zen resumed business shortly after.

Once-loyal customers are divided as whether to return to Wasabi Zen. “Finding out about the roaches makes Wasabi Zen dirty to me and I don’t want my sushi being made in a dirty place,” said senior Kimmy Thai.

Senior Daniel Kirkness sees no problem in going back to have a meal at Wasabi Zen. “I have been eating there for years and the food has always been great. The problem was fixed so I’ll continue to go,” he said.