Dead rodent in trap and mold in ice machine: See latest SLO County restaurant inspections

Stephanie Zappelli
·5 min read

One restaurant had a dead rodent under its stove, and another stored onions on its “heavily soiled” kitchen floor.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in June during hundreds of surprise visits to eating and drinking establishments.

Many food and beverage sellers passed with flying colors, while others needed to make serious improvements.

Every month, The Tribune prints the lowest- and highest-ranked eateries to give diners more information about the places where they buy food and drinks.

Inspectors visit restaurants, bars, coffee shops, grocery stores, mini-marts and more on a monthly basis. They score eateries on a 100-point scale and make deductions based on the severity of the violations they find.

To check out the safety and cleanliness of your favorite restaurants around the county, visit www.EatSafeSLO.org and use the interactive map to view full inspection reports.

Here are the highs and lows of the 133 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in June.

Lowest-rated restaurants

La Reyna Market, 532 24th St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 18.5

Notes: The Paso Robles deli and butcher shop made a number of health code violations in June, including leaving mold in its ice chute and a knife and cutting board on top of a trash can, inspection notes said. Meanwhile, the deli’s fridge held several day-old containers of rice and beans that hadn’t cooled properly, the inspection notes said. Properly cooled food should be 41 degrees after four hours in the refrigerator, but the beans were 50 degrees and the rice 51 degrees. According to inspection notes, the manager agreed to throw out the rice and beans.

San Miguel Market and Deli, 2060 9th St., Suite D, Los Osos

Points lost: 17

Notes: According to inspection notes, the deli stored soft cheese in an unrefrigerated display box, and the walk-in cooler was 7 to 8 degrees too hot. The inspector also found “excessive mold growth” in the ice machine, and “the meat saw was heavily soiled with meat debris,” inspection notes said. Staff told the inspector that they only clean the meat saw once per week, which “allows unsafe levels of bacterial growth and can lead to food-borne illness,” the notes said. The deli also stores raw meat above open produce boxes in the walk-in refrigerator, while bagged onions were stored on the kitchen floor, which “was heavily soiled with spills and food debris.” According to inspection notes, “the facility needs detail cleaning. Excessive soil and debris were observed on surfaces throughout the kitchen.”

Harbor Hut, 1205 Embarcadero, Morro Bay

Points lost: 16.5

Notes: The Harbor Hut also violated multiple health codes. The inspector found a rodent in a mouse trap under the stove and rodent droppings in a dry storage area, inspection notes said. The restaurant also had 20 other empty mouse traps around the restaurant. Staff told the inspector that the restaurant catches at least one rodent per day.

Additionally, the restaurant did not provide hand soap or paper towels at the designated hand washing sink. Those materials were provided at the meal prep sink, inspection notes said.

The inspector told the restaurant to hire a pest management company immediately to eliminate the rodents, and the restaurant must be reinspected.

7-Eleven, 2331 Spring St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 14.5

Notes: The Paso Robles convenience store failed to store copies of up-to-date Food Manager Certification and Food Handler cards on site, according to inspection notes. The inspector also found “grime and food debris throughout front service counter and middle self service and rear of facility,” which is a repeat violation, inspection notes said.

These businesses also lost 10 or more points due to violations.

  • Shin’s Poke, 361 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach

  • 7-Eleven, 2331 Spring St., Paso Robles

  • Nardonne’s La Famiglia Pizzaria, 715 Santa Maria Ave., Los Osos

  • The Clubhouse, 250 Howard Ave., Los Osos

  • Cape Cod Eatery and Taphouse, 1127 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach

  • Shell Beach Liquor Inc., 601 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach

  • Jose’s Country Kitchen, 81 Wellsona Road, Paso Robles

  • La Parrilla, 1421 East Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande

Highest-rated restaurants

These stores and restaurants received scores of 100, with few to no violations.

San Luis Obispo

  • Taco Bell, 3810 Broad Street, Suite 1

  • Costco Avenue C Micro Market, 1540 Froom Ranch Road

  • Nautical Bean #2 Kitchen, 11560 Los Osos Valley Road Suite 220

  • Insomnia Cookies, 22 Chorro Street Suite 101

  • Loma Vista Community School, 2494 Pennington Creek Road

  • Monika’s Macarons, 17 Chorro Street Suite A

South County

  • Five Guys Burgers and Fries, 1229 E Grand Ave., Suite 103, Arroyo Grande

  • Arroyo Grande Bakery, 1231 E Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande

  • Aldi #174, 1221 E Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande

North County

  • Atascadero Middle School, 6495 Lewis Ave., Atascadero

  • Atascadero Fine Arts Academy, 6100 Olmeda Ave., Atascadero

  • Monterey Road Elementary School, 3355 Monterey Road, Atascadero

  • San Gabriel Elementary School, 8500 San Gabriel Road, Atascadero

  • Santa Rosa Academic Academy, 8655 Santa Rosa Road, Atascadero

  • Atascadero High School, 1 High School Hill, Atascadero

  • Carrisa Plains Elementary School, 9640 Carrisa Highway, Santa Margarita

  • I Dream to Cater, 225 S Main St., Suite A, Templeton

  • Alba Provisions and Flowers, 225 S. Main St., #A, Templeton

  • Le Dolce Vita, 98 S Main St., Suite A, Templeton

  • Wine Shine Inc., 3064 Limestone Way, Paso Robles

  • Parrish Family Winery, 3590 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles

  • Camp Natoma, 617 Cypress Mountain Drive, Paso Robles

  • McDonalds, 186 Niblick Road, Paso Robles

  • Estrella Warbirds Museum Inc., 4251 Dry Creek Road, Suite A, Paso Robles

  • Holiday Inn Express, 2455 Riverside Ave., Paso Robles

  • Mitchell Vineyard Winery, 2515 Mitchell Ranch Way, Paso Robles