Gavin Newsom's hygiene problem
Mouse droppings, reports of hepatitis A, and food stored next to chemicals ... That's what was happening inside Newsom's restaurants while he fought higher fees for health inspections.

By Rachel Brahinsky and Tali Woodward

ON THE MENU at the PlumpJack Cafe: French foie gras, a "Duckling Trio," and more than 400 kinds of wine, including 84 "cult and hard-to-find" labels.

In the kitchen and storage rooms, according to records kept by the San Francisco Department of Public Health: mouse droppings, filthy floors, and a lack of provisions for hand-washing. How bad is it? Bad enough that in 1995 the city investigated PlumpJack after four people who had eaten there were diagnosed with hepatitis A.

It's true that many restaurants get cited for health infractions, and some are far worse than this one. But grimy PlumpJack is owned in part by mayoral candidate Sup. Gavin Newsom, who frequently says that government needs to be run more like a business.

Inspection reports of the other San Francisco food and drink spots in which Newsom is a partner – including the Balboa Cafe, two wine shops, and the MatrixFillmore bar – also show disregard for even the most basic restaurant rules, like keeping chemical products away from food, properly sanitizing dishes, and posting signs to remind employees to wash their hands.

Meanwhile, Newsom, as a city supervisor, has fought raising restaurant inspection fees. Those fee increases were designed, in part, to generate more money for the very inspections that were documenting health violations in his restaurants.

PlumpJack in the box

In March 1995, health department records show, PlumpJack was cited for putting food in inappropriate containers or simply leaving it uncovered. Soon afterward, a small outbreak of hepatitis A, a virus that affects the liver and is commonly transmitted through contaminated salads or shellfish, was linked to the restaurant.

The city's Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Control reported that the four diners were diagnosed with the illness "allegedly after dining at Plump Jack's [sic] Café," according to a June 13, 1995, DPH memo. Three provided detailed information on what they had eaten. The fourth, Jean Coblentz, who is the wife of high-powered attorney and Newsom donor William Coblentz, did not. She also declined to discuss the incident with us.

The memo says that, after an investigation, DPH was "unable to identify a specific contaminated food or an infected food handler" and that PlumpJack has "always demonstrated high standards for sanitation." (In 1999 PlumpJack became the first San Francisco restaurant to have its employees receive hepatitis A vaccines.)

But later in 1995 PlumpJack was cited for storing raw meats near other foods. The following year, according to documents, the restaurant got in trouble for having mice and failing to post its permit and license.

PlumpJack was repeatedly scolded for preparing food in the basement – also home to mouse droppings – in 1996, 1999, and 2001. Specifically, the restaurant was warned that its meat slicer should be kept in the kitchen. The slicer was still in the basement – along with more rodent droppings – when inspectors visited in 2002. A report dated May 8, 2003, instructed PlumpJack to "intensify pest control service to eliminate rodent infestation," "cover all foods," and "discontinue food prep downstairs."

Newsom's nearby wine shop, also called PlumpJack, got generally favorable health reviews. But the store was cited in 1996 for failing to provide soap and paper towels for employees, and in 2003 because there were no hand-washing signs by the sinks. The Noe Valley outpost of PlumpJack Wines has also slacked on posting appropriate permits and licenses, documents show.

No soap for workers

Just across from the Marina District wine shop and down the street from PlumpJack, at Newsom's casually elegant Balboa Cafe, there have been a slew of health code violations.

In June 1996 a customer complained to the city after catching sight of three kitchen workers who were eating as they prepared food. In 1996 and 1997 inspectors from DPH's environmental health division instructed café staffers to wash their hands after handling raw meat, fish, and poultry. DPH noted that employees had clean uniforms but repeatedly asked management to provide soap, to post hand-washing signs, and to keep soda gun nozzles clean "to eliminate slime accumulation."

The café was warned in May 2003 to "discontinue storing chemicals next to food products."

Balboa was also repeatedly put on notice, over the course of four years, to repair dishwashers so that they would provide proper sanitation. On March 4, 1998, the inspector instructed: "immediately repair dishwasher ... this violation has been noted during my last 3 inspections." According to reports, licenses and food handler permits were rarely posted and frequently invalid.

Restaurant owners and managers we talked to say that when prominent eating establishments violate health guidelines, it sends a bad message.

Larry Bain, who directs operations for Jardinière and Acme Chophouse and has 20 years of experience in the San Francisco restaurant business, wouldn't comment on the violations at establishments owned by Newsom. "The standards set by the city are very high and meeting them on a constant basis 100 percent is very difficult," he allowed. But, he added, "Restaurateurs who have or manage the finer restaurants in San Francisco have a greater obligation to meet or exceed standards set by the health department, because it is part of their role as leaders in the restaurant industry to maintain the confidence of the dining public, so that no matter where they go ... they know that they will be served safe food that is healthy."

Eric Jaye, who is managing Newsom's mayoral campaign, defended the restaurants. "Most restaurants, during the course of inspection, have things that the inspectors want addressed. Our read of these documents shows a record of well-run establishments that respond to issues promptly."

"Yeah, there are some issues that appear more than once, but it's not for a lack of addressing them," he continued later. "We're not particularly concerned about it since there is a great record at these establishments."

No consequences

DPH is not empowered to issue fines, but it can summon restaurateurs to City Hall for a hearing before department staffers. Yet Newsom was brought in by DPH just once – about eight years ago, before he was appointed to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Jack Breslin, head of DPH's health inspection division, told us the hearing stemmed from a structural problem at one of the restaurants.

There is no corruption or favoritism in the inspection process, Breslin insists. "We have to be as evenhanded as possible," he said.

Breslin, who has worked for the department for 33 years, said Newsom's businesses have not been particularly egregious violators and that other Marina restaurants have had similar problems. But he did express irritation with restaurants that repeatedly slip up on the same rules.

When reopening the Matrix bar – once famous as the birthplace of Jefferson Airplane – as MatrixFillmore, Newsom and his business partners didn't apply for a permit to serve food. So when DPH inspectors gave them the go-ahead to open for business Nov. 21, 2001, inspector Randall Chan recommended issuing a permit to operate a drink and snack bar – but noted that there should be "NO COOKING."

Apparently that order wasn't a deterrent.

Two years later, in a May 15, 2003, citation, DPH ordered MatrixFillmore, which caters to a moneyed crowd, to "discontinue serving tapas/appetizers in rear bar area or apply for a change to your health permit to one serving food." On a recent Saturday night many patrons were enjoying sushi and dim sum along with their cosmos and martinis. DPH was not able to tell us if this is allowed.

While his restaurants were racking up health citations, Newsom was challenging moves at the Board of Supervisors to raise the fees restaurants pay for inspection. By gutting and voting against proposed increases in inspection fees – in 1997 and 2001 – he has effectively tried to weaken the system.

"We're fed up with being forced to pay more and more," Newsom said back in 1997, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, when he fought a proposed fee increase until his colleagues were willing to exempt businesses under 1,000 square feet. Four years later, Newsom opposed another fee hike, one DPH said it needed to keep restaurants clean.

Similarly upscale establishments Plouf and Café Bastille typically have spotless health records. Olivier Azancot, co-owner of both, told us he works hard to keep his restaurants clean and has them scoured for rodents on a weekly basis. "You have to pay to keep people safe," he said.

Does it bother Azancot that Newsom's operation has repeatedly flouted city warnings with no apparent consequences? "What am I going to get upset about? It's like that everywhere. If you have connections, you get whatever you want. I just pray somebody doesn't get sick."

Research assistance by Anthony Ha, Nate Houghteling, and Alex Posorske.

E-mail Rachel Brahinsky and Tali Woodward