Dupont Kabob Restaurant Reopens After Reports of Vermin

(Updated 5:05 p.m.) A Dupont-area kabob restaurant was earlier today ordered closed by the D.C. Department of Health after an inspection uncovered vermin on the premises.

Sacrificial Lamb Kabob and Wraps at 1704 R Street NW was closed much of today for “failing to minimize the presence of insects, rodents and other pests on the premises,” according to a DOH food establishment closure notice posted on the front door of the restaurant yesterday.

The restaurant has since reopened.

Borderstan visited the restaurant earlier this morning and spoke with a manager there. The manager confirmed the presence of rats in the store’s trash cans, but said the rats were not seen inside the restaurant.

“It’s unfair,” said the manager, who did not want to be identified. “We passed a health inspection three weeks ago.”

A DOH inspection report from June 1 did not reveal the presence of rats at the restaurant.

Still, rats lurking in trash cans are enough to temporarily close a restaurant, says DOH Spokesperson Ivan Torres.

“We have to actually observe the animals or droppings, which is evidence of their presence,” Torres says. “It can be in the trash cans if the trash cans are on the premises.”

A full report from yesterday’s inspection will be posted online next week.