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Juventino Shut Down by DOH
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 12:32PM 
The Department of Health has really been on a roll these past couple months.
Coco Roco, Konditori, Baluchi's, Five Guys, and more have been a victim of their ever-widening hammer in recent weeks, and a couple days ago it fell on Juventino (formerly Get Fresh), the popular restaurant and brunch spot on Fifth Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets.
The spacious, pricey restaurant, best known for its farm-to-table fare inspired by the home cooking of chef/owner Juventino Avila's mother, is a big hit with the daytime crowd, and every menu item is selected with an eye on seasonality and freshness. Judging by the DOH report it doesn't appear as if cleanliness was the issue here; apparently there just wasn't enough done to ensure that food was cooked to, and held at, safe temperatures.
Many argue that the city's health inspectors have gotten out of control, and are in it more for the money than to actually keep restaurants clean. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn agrees, and will soon be proposing legislation that would scale back the overzealous inspections and outrageous fines.
UPDATE: I just heard from Juventino, who informed me that the restaurant is back open. "We have held an A grade for some time now," he said, "It came as a surprise to receive an unfavorable grade– especially since all 4 (yes, 4) inspectors commented on how clean our restaurant was kept."
As a way to thank the community for their support, they will be offering all white wine for half price until Sunday evening.
DOH Closures in Food, Scoops, Storefronts
Reader Comments (40)
DOH is out of control!
I agree!
I love Juventino - the egg sandwich and pancakes at brunch are the best. I really hope this doesn't hurt their business.
This restaurant is one of the best kept secrets in Park Slope...shhhhh....
Really, really good food....
I don't like how this blog calls out every restaurant that is closed by the DOH, especially because in most instances, by the time it's reported here, the restaurant has already reopened. Either you announce it immediately when it happens or not at all. It really does hurt these businesses. Years ago, brownstoner announced La Taqueria's DOH shut down and soon after the place closed because everyone got scared and stopped going.
Juventino is crap. Food mediocre, service hideous. Shame they weren't shut down for good.
The 201 reviews on yelp would beg to differ with you Milo.
My guess is that you work at a restaurant nearby and are jealous and trying to be nasty.
I think the blog exists to report on happenings in the neighborhood. A DOH closing is a happening. It's up to you if you want to continue going to the place.
I somehow doubt a post on this site contributed to La Taq's demise. Really.
What I'd love to see is more trips BACK to businesses profiled at opening. I'd love to read reports about how we were all wrong about Woodland and completely surprised by Va Beh.
I went to Juventino back when it was still Get Fresh and Marc Simmons (now at Kiwiana) was in the kitchen. While what I had was good, I thought there wasn't enough bang for the buck. Every time I walk by and look at the menu, I feel the same way.
No, Sterling. Don't work in a restaurant. And for the love of all that is holy, I hope you don't rely on Yelp for any advice. Sheesh.
I was turned away one morning (while other parties of the same size who also had no reservations) were let in because the host didn't like the look of us.
And the food really is mediocre. Not bad, just not worth dealing with assholes to get.
How do you know the food was mediocre if you got turned away?
You went back after that? You sound like a true idiot.
No chance I might have gone a few times before I was turned away? Finely honed mind you've got there, Sterling. You'd definitely know a true idiot if you saw one.
(And before you blather on about why I went a few times, might I add that there is little to be had in the neighborhood that is not mediocre before lunchtime and that the space is nice enough.)
They are assholes, though. I won't be seeing you there.
Milo definitely works in the restaurant business. His story doesn't add up. You don't go to a place like this multiple times and then show up and be turned away. They recognized me after the very first visit and have treated me like a friend ever since. You either made a VERY bad impression and showed up with a bunch of hookers or your story is a lie. The people there are some of the loveliest in the industry. The food is not mind blowing, but it's excellent.
Also, something about going there "a few times" (which means more than 2) and then showing up one more time and being turned away and then calling the restaurant "crap" makes you sound like a really bitter nasty person. That experience does not align with wishing the restaurant would go out of business.
You have a chip on your shoulder and your story makes no sense.
Anyone with working taste buds who has eaten at Juventino knows that the food is some of the best around.
Ensuring that food is "cooked to, and held at, SAFE temperatures" is as important as cleanliness. If food is undercooked, not refrigerated properly, and/or not held at a hot enough temperature (depending on the food) - these are conditions that can lead to food poisoning.
Too bad they weren't closed for good. I ate here once and the food was okay but I will not be back. THE OWNER TRULY HATES DINERS WITH CHILDREN! My wife and I went in for brunch with our 9 month old while the restaurant was quiet and relatively empty. Firstly, the owner hostily informed us that do not have any heightchairs, and second, they do not permit strollers. When I politely explained that this wasn't exactly a customer-friendly policy given the family oriented nature of Park Slope, the owner got loud and asked me why I was telling him this and I explained that it was an effort to get him to reconsider. He then got in my face and told me that I should go post my gripes on Yelp! and that he didn't care. Most people would've popped this guy in his fat face, but fortunately my wife and child didn't have to observe daddy unleashing a bit of his uncotrolled Brooklyn upbringing or daddy being led away in cuffs. So it seems that karma is a bitch and the Health Department is onto this clown -- the owner probably got nasty with them too.... Seems like they're doing us all a favor by keeping us from getting salmonella poisoning or from consuming an uncooked puddle of sweat that may have dripped off the brow of the kid-hating greasy meatball that owns this place. I know a nice retirement community devoid of kids where he will be very happy someday...
Dear Stan:
We all truly hate diners with children, especially the stroller pricks.
Sincerely,
EVERYONE
Stan:
Your post is a lie. Do you know how I know this?
The owner has a small child. I bring my child in regularly and they do have high chairs.
I ate at Juventino the night before they were "shut" by the DOH an will be back and support them until I experience something to make me change my mind. Exceptional food and service. Not sure what's up with Stan (tl;dr) or Milo (butthurt), I've had nothing but super experiences there.
Whatever bk4life, yeah, folks have nothing better to do than make up fantasy stories about events that didn't happen. The fat sweaty man that owns the place very clearly stated that he did not have high chairs-- if he does have a child, maybe he/she doesn't need a high chair because he/she can sit perched atop daddy-Juventino's big-a$$ pot-belly instead. The lie and is that they actually do have high chairs. As for Chris and Everyone, maybe someday someone you will get the nerve to move out of your parents' basements, and meet a nice lady that might want to have a child with you (I wouldn't get your hopes up too much), but in the meantime, why don't you limit your posts to information about the restaurant? I hope the two of you get a nasty case of food poisoning and salmonella next time you eat there. Later blogger losers.
Milo seems like a troll douche. Juventino is my fave. Great service, great coffee, amazing steak n eggs!
Stan and Milo are the same troll.
Before my wife and I had a child, we went to get fresh and then juventino a few times. We definitely were not regulars, but we enjoyed the place. Shortly after our child was born, we tried to go again and got the same message as Stan. No one was obnoxious, but the message was clear: they would prefer patrons without young children. We never went back and, when friends suggested it for brunch recently, we said we preferred another option.
Never been there, but Stan what is your definition of a greasy meatball?
I want to go on record here as supporting the DOH and what they do. Everyone who opens a restaurant is responsible for knowing the health rules that are enforced by the DOH. If the DOH conducts an inspection of a restaurant and there are so many violations that the restaurant is closed until those violations are remedied, then so be it. I would MUCH rather have a vigilant DOH checking the thousands of food establishments in New York City than to leave it to restaurant owners.
In my view Christine Quinn is playing politics and responding to the quite powerful restaurant lobby in New York City. She wants to become mayor. I think she does a lot of good things, but watering down the DOH enforcement policies is not one of them.
I'm not sure why people think "the DOH is out of control." The inspectors have a procedure they follow and a checklist of things they look at. Restaurants are, or should be, fully aware of everything on the checklist. If a restaurant is so far out of compliance that it needs to be shuttered, then that's what should happen.
If you do a check sometime on restaurants that are shuttered, you'll see that most of them get an A within days of being shuttered. That means that the DOH reinspects that restaurant timely in order to allow it to correct the violations and get back to business. I don't see anything wrong or out of control about that.
And if the restaurant can clean up its act in a few days after being shuttered, my thought is, "why didn't the restaurant clean up its act BEFORE being shuttered?"
Every restaurant that is shuttered has some sort of excuse ("The freezer broke down"; "The problems had to do with permits, not safety"; "Those things just happened today because the maintenance guy was out sick", etc., etc.) If these problems just popped up suddenly, why not close the place yourself and get them fixed, then reopen? Isn't that better than having the DOH shut you down?
Sorry, folks, but I'm with the DOH on this one.
Re Stan and his rant about not being able to bring his 9-month old infant into a restaurant: there is no reason in the world why parents should be bringing infants into adult restaurants. Well, except for selfishness.
I say kudos to the places that put up "No Strollers" signs, and more kudos to places that discourage babies. If the parents don't have enough sense to do their parenting at home, then I'm all for the restaurants and bars who stop them at the door.
My four cents...
Dear Stan -
Thank you for inspiring me to try Juventino for the first time. Kudos to the owners for standing up to other diners' rights to eat a meal in peace without infants and children.
Juventino is our go-to place when we have relatives in town, and have never had a bad experience. We see kids in there all the time, and no one seems to have an issue about it/them. The last time we were there was with the grandparents, following our kids' elementary school graduation (we saw other families w/ their 5th-grade grads as well). The staff couldn't have been nicer.