One of Samoa’s favourite dining places Sunrise Restaurant has re-opened after a temporary closure by the Ministry of Health.
A senior Ministry of Health official confirmed the restaurant was closed from Tuesday 17 August 2021 following a complaint lodged by a member of the public. Following an inspection, the temporary closure was imposed until the restaurant was cleared to re-open on Monday 23rd August 2021.
“I can confirm that the Sunrise Restaurant is back to operation today after being closed from Tuesday last week,” said the health official.
“A pest control company was brought in to rid all the insects inside the restaurant before we inspected it again over the weekend,” said the official. We have deemed the restaurant now safe to be back to operation this morning (Monday)”.
“Sa faatamaia uma iniseti ma faamama itu uma e tapena ai mea taumafa”.
Asked for a comment, Jeremiah Chan Sau of Sunrise Restaurant confirmed they were closed down to undertake recommended actions by the Ministry of Health.
“We can confirm a complaint was made last week Tuesday by a member of the public to the Ministry of Health. In response MOH assessed our processes as well as our premises and made recommendations to us in order to comply with MOH food service standards,” Mr Chan Sau said in an email.
Mr Chan Sau said changes were implemented between Wednesday and Friday last week, followed by a reassessment by MOH over the weekend.
Mr Chan Sau has given his assurance that Sunrise Restaurant is now fully compliant and approved to be reopened.
The Ministry of Health official says their role is to ensure that all restaurants, canteens, shops as well as roadside stall-owners operate in accordance with health and safety rules and regulations for the health of the general public they are serving.
“Our inspections will continue this week to different canteens and schools in Upolu,” the health official confirmed.
“We want to ensure the food provided by these canteen owners to the children in schools are well prepared,” he added.
Sunrise Restaurant has been serving Samoa for more than 20 years, providing local favorites through dine-in or takeaway.
