Sony Hocklander

News-Leader

Citing financial problems, a spokeswoman for Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet said Friday the north side restaurant would close for good on Sept. 14.

The corporate-owned restaurant at 1950 E. Kearney St. was shuttered by the Springfield-Greene County Health Department for more than 10 days after a July 10 inspection reported 14 critical violations.

In July, restaurant manager Victoria Crigan spoke up in response to the report and the closing, claiming bias by the inspectors. The health department defended the temporary closing and inspection reports.

Crigan called the News-Leader on Friday because she and the owner wanted to send a letter to let customers to know the business would close.

Crigan said business at the restaurant has been very slow since the closing in July. "Business was good before. It was busy and we had customers," she said. "But lately, since we had that happening, it's caused it to slow down."

According to records on the health department's website, the Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet has been inspected or reinspected nine times in 2014. It was inspected last on Wednesday, when three critical and zero noncritical violations were noted. That was the sixth inspection after the July 10 visit.

Records show the restaurant was also inspected or reinspected more than a half-dozen times in 2013, and was closed for 24 hours three times in 2013 because of violations. Most restaurants are inspected one to three times annually, according to the department.

The Hibachi "has been through a lot and the issue was from the beginning," Crigan said, speaking of inspections. She said the restaurant owner and health inspector had "just a bad relationship. They are all over us."

She didn't know how many people would lose jobs.

In a July 23 story, Crigan, who has worked at Hibachi for two years, told a reporter that an inspector did not respect restaurant staff, who are predominantly Asian, during the July 10 visit, and said she had a "feeling she's racist with them."

Springfield-Greene County Health Department Director Kevin Gipson responded that closures put financial pressure on an eatery and it's not unusual for them to "lash out against the department, our inspectors, against me."

Health department spokeswoman Kathryn Wall said Friday the department is sorry to hear the Hibachi is closing but "it was not from lack of effort on our part. We were there weekly in some cases to get them back to a safe place for their customers."

She stressed that multiple inspectors are involved with decisions to close a restaurant, and the inspector from July 10 was not involved after that date. "We do these things above board," she said. "We want to be good partners and see businesses be successful, but we are not going to do that at the cost of public safety."

Crigan said Friday she wanted to thank customers: "We want to let the customers know that we appreciate their business for the last two years."

She also said she was sorry to see the Hibachi Grill close. "I am sad that this restaurant will not be here anymore and the community will miss this restaurant," she said.

Letter from management

We regret to announce that Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet will close its business in the Springfield location on September 14, 2014. We wish to thank our many customers for their business over the last few years. It was a privilege to serve the Springfield community. For the customers who have not yet redeemed your Hibachi Grill Gift Certificates, please know that we will be honoring them through September 14. Thank you very much once again for supporting us.

— Hibachi Grill Management