A Nashville-area restaurant is open mere hours after it was shut down by the health department, who discovered that the employees were washing dishes in a nearby lake.

No. 1 Chinese Restaurant, located in Old Hickory, reportedly allowed employees to wash cookware in Old Hickory Lake.

After video from a concerned citizen hit the internet, the health department swooped in, shutting the location down- at least for a moment.

“Their explanation was it was a drain that collected a lot of grease, and they wanted to wash it somewhere where that grease wasn’t going down their drain,” said Hugh Atkins, Director of the Bureau of Environmental Health Services at the Metro Health Department. “It’s disturbing to see something like that.”

The restaurant was not allowed to re-open until all surfaces and equipment were cleaned, all under the supervision of an inspector.

“If customers see that restaurant open, that means we’ve addressed this issue to our satisfaction,” Atkins told News Channel 5.

Locals, while shocked, remark that the food isn’t bad.

“I’ve never gotten sick from the food here,” said Heather Williams, has been eating there for years. “It’s clean. I’ve never had any problems.”

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