The two Wolf’s Den Pizzeria locations on the Vineyard were closed last week due food being stored at an unpermitted storage container in Oak Bluffs, according to down-Island health officials. 

On August 7, the Oak Bluffs health agent found people loading up food from a shipping container that had a walk-in refrigerator and was being used as an offsite storage for the pizzerias.

Oak Bluffs issued a cease and desist and ordered all of the food to be thrown away, according to Alexa Arieta, the town health agent. The town building department also ordered that the shipping container be removed from the property, she said. 

In the wake of the discovery, both Edgartown and Tisbury health department closed the Wolf’s Den restaurants in their towns and ordered food at the pizza places be tossed for fear that it was contaminated. 

Edgartown health agent Brice Boutot said the company was also found to be transporting food in an unrefrigerated van to the restaurants, along with raw meat being stored above vegetables. 

“These observations supported a conclusion that the food at these locations must be embargoed and disposed of, as there was no way to establish a safe chain of custody,” Mr. Boutot told the Gazette. 

A hearing to reopen the Edgartown location will be scheduled after Wolf’s Den takes corrective action, he added. 

The Tisbury board of health said there was also documentation that indicated food was being prepared at the Oak Bluffs storage container. This was a concern because there was no evidence of a handwashing station or other sanitary necessities at the site. 

The Tisbury board met on Tuesday with representatives from Wolf’s Den. The company told the board that Wolf’s Den moved the food to the Oak Bluffs storage site after experiencing refrigeration issues at the Edgartown location. 

Valteir Rosa with Wolf’s Den said that the Vineyard Haven food was separate from the Edgartown issues, but accepted that the company had to take steps to ensure everyone’s safety.

“It’s a consequence of the business. We’re fine with that and we apologize for making everybody work on this,” he said. “We don’t want the public to be unsafe.” 

After undertaking work to improve the restaurant, the board voted to allow Wolf’s Den to reopen the Vineyard Haven location, pending another inspection. The Tisbury board of health had visited the site twice for inspections before the Oak Bluffs storage facility was discovered.

“Were were there on July 30 and August 6, and on site, operations at the establishment are going okay,” said Tisbury health inspector Fred Hehre. “The main issue is that unknown offsite storage, which is why we had to close last week.”