Por Jeff Clemetson | Editor<\/p>\n
On April 9, a routine inspection of Swami\u2019s Caf\u00e9 on La Mesa Boulevard by the County Health Department led to a brief shutdown of the restaurant after the inspector discovered two cockroaches near the back door.<\/p>\n
Swami\u2019s responded the way restaurants should \u2014 closing the doors and conducting an all-night deep clean while looking for further signs of cockroaches. The following morning, they requested another inspection.<\/p>\n
An inspector came in at 7 a.m. \u2014 at a cost of $800 for a rush follow-up inspection. He was there for an hour doing a more thorough investigation, searching for more cockroaches \u2014 scraping walls, using mirrors, etc. The Swami\u2019s staff were certain of passing because in their overnight cleaning they never found any additional cockroaches. Swami\u2019s also has a regular pest control service that visits once or twice a month and a cleaning service that works for six hours every morning before opening.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it would have been a large infestation, we wouldn\u2019t have been able to open the next day because this guy is doing a very, very thorough search,\u201d said Swami\u2019s operations manager Hulises Contreras. \u201cIf there was something here, he was looking to catch it. He was real aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
With no signs of an infestation, Swami\u2019s re-opened for business on April 10. However, a different kind of infestation had already begun to infect the local eatery \u2014 viral social media stories, some with skewed facts, that spread into evening news.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get a lot of foot traffic on La Mesa Boulevard so somebody sees the poster, takes a picture posts it on Yelp, posts to social media, they tell some friends and it spreads like wildfire from there,\u201d Contreras said, adding that cable news outlets began reaching out for a statement from him around 6 p.m. on the day of the initial inspection and a camera man set up outside Swami\u2019s 10 minutes later and said the story will be on the 11 o\u2019clock news. NBC also posted a story on Facebook around 10 p.m. that had more comments and shares than stories about national headlines.<\/p>\n
\u201cA story about Kim Kardashian, a story about Nipsy Hustle, a story about Trump and each one has about 15 to 20 comments \u2014 Swami\u2019s Caf\u00e9 La Mesa closed due to vermin infestation? 500 comments, 600 shares. And so they see that and go let\u2019s see how we can cover this even more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t expect to be spread all over the news,\u201d Contreras continued. \u201cI was in Point Loma and listening to Rock 105.3 and they even brought it up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments on the social media platforms also caused rumors to spread. One rumor that was shared said the restaurant was infested with rats. Contreras saw the rumors online but was reticent to quell them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t ready to make a statement just because is anything better between a cockroach and a rat? Either way, none of it should be in our restaurant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Like many viral stories, the Swami\u2019s closure story became a genie that was tough to put back in the bottle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called NBC News to tell them we opened the next morning already with a 95% inspection rating and can you please change your headline because the headline was \u2018Swami\u2019s Caf\u00e9 La Mesa closed due to vermin infestation,\u2019\u201d Contreras said, adding the news only changed the headline to \u201copen after vermin infestation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBusiness has dwindled a little bit,\u201d Contreras said of the aftermath. \u201cWe lost a little confidence with the locals. Still, a lot of the regulars are coming back, a lot of loyal supporters are coming. We just explain to them, \u2018Yeah we made a mistake, but we\u2019re going to continue to improve and continue to follow proper procedures.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Swami\u2019s has operated in San Diego County for over 20 years. There are now 11 Swami\u2019s Caf\u00e9 restaurants and three bistro restaurants, including La Mesa Bistro and Bakery. This was the first time any Swami\u2019s restaurants have ever been closed by the Health Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re sorry that it happened, but we\u2019re going to continue to come out with new menu items and offer the same great service we\u2019ve been giving to the community of La Mesa,\u201d Contreras said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been a part of this community close to 10 years now and plan on staying forever, it\u2019s a great community.\u201d<\/p>\n