I'm not sure where this rumor originated, but speaking from personal experience the restuarant has always been sanitary, from what I've been able to see. The staff are incredibly nice and committed to quality, so I can only assume their back of house standards match what can be seen on the front of house end. Hope this is helpful!
As someone who worked a few doors down from this restaurant and seen and heard what goes in from their often wide open back door I can assure you that the back of house is far worse than the front of house. It saddens me as I love this place (and still go from time to time). They did get shut down recently for health code violations so I hope since reopening that the kitchen cleanliness has been upped dramatically
Thanks! Your answer is awaiting moderation.