Wareham Health Board fines Wendy's $500, lets McDonald's off with a warning

The Wendy's at 3025 Cranberry Highway was fined $500 by the Wareham Board of Health on Wednesday, Aug. 1, for failing to keep a clean store. The business has been closed at least three times before due to similar circumstances.

According to Heath Agent Robert Ethier, the fast food restaurant is currently in violation of both federal food code and state sanitary code. During his last visit a month and a half ago, Ethier said he found greasy carpets, dirty tiles and a leaking ceiling in the dining area.

District Manager Keith Helger appeared before the Board of Health to provide an update on the store's condition, stating that the front of the store had been cleaned up with new furniture from a recently closed store.

Helger also said a carpet cleaning company is visiting the store once a month. General cleaning at Wendy's is carried out by staff, which Helger claimed has been a challenge.

"We only have 16 employees at the moment," Helger said. "We should be running at about 24."

According to Helger, many job applicants are turned away for failed background checks.

Board of Health members suggested that Helger look into hiring a third party cleaning company to make up for the shortage of employees on top of the $500 fine.

Representatives from the neighboring McDonald's at 3032 Cranberry Highway also went before the Board of Health on Wednesday night.

Ethier stated that on a recent visit to McDonald's he found wet boxes containing food as well as a trail of mud and grease inside the restaurant's freezer. Both issues have been resolved according to McDonald's representative, who claim the mess in the freezer likely came from a delivery.

"It's not an ongoing issue," one representative said. "We've never seen anything like it before."

The Board of Health ultimately let McDonalds' off with a warning for the incident.