Chelsea Sushi Restaurant Inspected By Health Department

CHELSEA, NY — Health inspectors found evidence of rodents and employees handling food without gloves at a celebrity chef's sushi restaurant, according to a review by the city.

Sushi by Bou — a Gansevoort Market restaurant headed by renowned chef David Bouhadana — was faulted on Wednesday by the city’s health department, which spotted seven violations that included mice and workers handling food with their bare hands, city records show.

The sushi stand, which opened in the Chelsea food hall in May, was faulted by city inspectors because food workers didn't use gloves to "eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment," according to the health department's inspection. In addition, said that "personal cleanliness" or workers was inadequate, with at least one outer garment "soiled with possible contaminant." (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

A health department representative told Patch that the restaurant was closed when inspectors found two employees handling food without gloves, but co-owner Michael Sinensky disputed this claim and said the trouble was not with his sushi restaurant but with the Chelsea food hall.

"Both Sushi by Bou and the Gansevoort Market were inspected," Sinensky said in a statement. "Infractions came from the boiler room and commissary kitchen, both controlled by the building's owner. We were told they corrected all violations."

Gansevoort Market did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Patch.

City health officials can shut down a restaurant if it has either repeated or extensive violations. A restaurant can request a re-opening inspection after concerns are addressed.

Bouhadana has stared down the health department before over its rule that all chefs, including sushi chefs, wear gloves while preparing food. In 2015, Bouhadana parted ways with the East Village restaurant Sushi Dojo, after that restaurant was temporarily closed because workers weren't wearing gloves.

At the time, Bouhadana launched a petition calling on the city to change its rules regarding plastic gloves.

"Bare hand contact is essential for preparing and preserving sushi based on traditional techniques," he wrote in the 2015 petition.

"I don’t want to be known as the guy who fights with the Department of Health, I want to be the guy who resolved it," he told Thrillist earlier this year. "I’d rather be arrested and go to jail than put gloves on, but clearly that’s not an option. Being closed is the only option."

Bouhadana has also come under fire for reportedly using a fake Japanese accent while serving customers, although he is white and hails from South Florida, Eater reporter earlier this year.

Sushi by Bou has another location in midtown which remains open.

Correction: This story has been amended due to incorrect information from a source.

Kathleen Culliton contributed to this report.

Lead image via Ciara McCarthy / Patch.