Disney cafe reopens with top grade

A “C” public health rating for the Walt Disney Co.’s commissary at its Buena Vista Street headquarters may be tied to the company’s decision to discontinue the services of a third-party catering contractor.

Without the contract, Lifeworks Restaurant Group, which operated the eatery, filed notices with the California Employment Development Department stating it will lay off its workers at Disney offices in Burbank and Glendale on Nov. 4.

Lifeworks released a statement earlier this month, stating it will “no longer provide those services to this client location,” but Disney has so far declined to comment on the contract.

The kerfuffle started Aug. 18 when Disney’s commissary received a health inspection score of 76 for a “C” grade, said Thomas Parys, who heads the food and milk program for the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

The violations included problems with food temperatures and a “hand-washing issue,” Parys said.

Disney officials said the company closed the commissary voluntarily while the violations were addressed. Food trucks were brought in at the time for employees.

Parys said the commissary received a score of 96 during an inspection on Aug. 24, raising it back up to “A” status.

A follow-up inspection was conducted on Oct. 13 and the commissary again scored 96, Parys said.