By Kyeland Jackson–

For the second year in a row, the Ville Grill has received a C rating from the Louisville Department of Public Health and Wellness.

This year’s C rating was for unsatisfactory food storage, cloth and utensil sanitation, hand washing sink repairs and ineffective sneezing guards. Matti Verder, the Sodexo resident district manager, reports the problems have since been addressed.

What constitutes a “good” letter grade differs for dining locations like food trucks or the Ville Grill. Enforced sanitary practices are ensured by Public Health and Wellness, who performs checks on restaurants yearly. Those who do not meet standards are given a deadline to remedy the problems.

This is the third time the Sodexo restaurant has received a C rating. The prior two were in 2012 and 2014.

Ville Grill’s 2012 C rating was attributed to a bad dishwasher that did not properly sanitize dishes. Sodexo and the staff were tasked to fix it within a week before another inspection. That week they passed with 100 percent—an easy A.

Senior Jordan Barnes worked at the Ville Grill two years before leaving the job. She was present during the first C rating the restaurant received.

“It’s a really big restaurant; a lot of things can go wrong,” Barnes said. “I’m impressed they’ve kept it up this long.”

Strict health procedures coupled with the 30+ employees can become problematic for places like the Ville Grill. Any oversight could spell danger for students eating there.

Though they received a bad rating during her time there, Barnes said it was not due to recklessness.  “As far as I knew, everybody cared about the safety of students.”

“We had health code meetings pretty regularly,” Barnes said. “We had to clean the entire place from top to bottom. We even had to wipe off the walls.”

Lydia is a freshman at the university who frequents the Ville Grill, and expressed her concern for the rating. “If I’m paying this much money (for tuition), why are there sinks that need repair here?” she said.

Freshman Kendall Johnson eats at the Ville Grill often, as well. “It’s kind of scary,” she said. Johnson explains that freshman don’t have many options for places to use swipes. This leaves Ville Grill as one of the primary choices.

The 2014 rating was reported as unsatisfactory drink storage and hand sanitation between handling food. One week later the Ville Grill passed, again with flying colors, and apologized for its staff members who were unaware of protocol.

Regarding Sodexo’s plan of action for this year’s rating, Verder responded via email. “We already have and will continue to double our efforts to review all health code related policies in a pro-active manner,” he said.

The Ville Grill received seven to ten days to remedy the problems. They anticipate another inspection Thursday or Friday to determine if standards have been met.

As of Oct. 30, the Ville Grille received an A rating with a score of 100.