photo by: Richard Gwin

Story updated at 4:21 p.m. Friday, March 1, 2019:

A longtime downtown restaurant closed for a day because state health code inspectors found cockroaches in the restaurant.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s health code inspectors closed Free State Brewing Co., 636 Massachusetts St., Thursday afternoon to make the restaurant address the cockroach infestation before it could continue business, said Heather Lansdowne, a spokeswoman for the department.

The restaurant treated the building for pests immediately after it was closed, Lansdowne said. On Friday morning, the department inspected the restaurant again and allowed it to reopen.

“We went there 7 a.m. (Friday) to do the reopening inspection and that was good,” Lansdowne said.

Although the restaurant is able to operate, it is still listed as out of compliance in the state’s health code database. Lansdowne said that meant the restaurant would be subjected to a follow-up inspection in approximately 10 days.

Chuck Magerl, owner of Free State Brewing Company, confirmed the restaurant was closed on Thursday because of cockroaches. He said after the inspection, the restaurant immediately closed and called for pest control to remedy the problem.

“Food safety is of great importance to us, and we accept our failure to assure complete compliance,” Magerl said in an email to the Journal-World. “While it was disconcerting to discover this situation, we’ve made changes to our pest control service, and we’re dedicated to strengthening our daily practice and diligence.”