diff --git a/src/main/java/com/ibm/watson/modelmesh/ModelMesh.java b/src/main/java/com/ibm/watson/modelmesh/ModelMesh.java
index f8779651..3795178d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/ibm/watson/modelmesh/ModelMesh.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/ibm/watson/modelmesh/ModelMesh.java
@@ -1327,6 +1327,11 @@ protected boolean isReady() {
             reportReady = true;
         }
 
+        if (!verifyKvStoreConnection()) {
+            logger.info("Returning NOT READY to readiness probe due to kv-store connection failure");
+            return false;
+        }
+
         return true;
     }