Fresno County restaurant inspections: Cockroaches and rodents close one eatery in April
Three Fresno restaurants were closed temporarily in April after food safety or permit violations were discovered by county health inspectors.
An infestation of cockroaches and rodents were behind the closure of a Mexican restaurant after a visit from a Fresno County Public Health Department inspector on April 5. Los Tapatios, tucked between a smoke shop and a liquor store in a small shopping center at Cedar and McKinley avenues, was also found to have inoperable restrooms.
The restaurant at 1634 N. Cedar was allowed to reopen three weeks later, on April 26, after a reinspection visit from the county.
Fresno food truck operating with expired permit
For the Taqueria Orozco food truck, based at a commissary at Butler and Orange avenues in southeast Fresno, it was an expired operating permit – not any sort of infestation or health violations – that resulted in a closure after an April 5 visit. The operators of the truck, which visits different locations, were allowed to reopen April 14 after renewing the permit.
A kitchen fire that set off the fire-suppression system at the McDonald’s restaurant at Herndon and Ingram avenues in northeast Fresno prompted the temporary closure of the fast-food eatery on April 27. The restaurant reopened later that same day after workers cleaned up the mess.
What happened to donut shop closed in March?
Another restaurant that was closed by health inspectors in March remains closed under orders of the county health department. Christy’s Donuts, at Fresno Street and Belmont Avenue in southeast Fresno, was closed on March 17 after an inspector found the ventilation hood was not working. The building was deemed unsafe to occupy when it was discovered that grease was accumulating in the building’s attic next to the water heater and leaking into light fixtures.
Inspectors from the county’s environmental health division typically attempt to visit each of more than 5,300 restaurants, snack bars, commissaries, delicatessens, grocery stores and food vendors across Fresno County three to four times a year. That frequency slipped somewhat during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as many restaurants were closed and county health employees were diverted to other tasks related to the pandemic, but inspections are increasingly back on track now.
Restaurants also are inspected in response to complaints or other concerns from the public, including when people see what they believe are health or sanitation issues at restaurants.
Inspectors run through a checklist of more than 50 issues when they visit a restaurant or food-service site.
A lack of hot water is one of the most common violations that inspectors find when they make their routine visits to restaurants and other food and drink establishments throughout Fresno County. Hot water at a temperature of at least 120 degrees is considered important by inspectors for safely washing pots, pans, dishes and glasses as well as for employees to wash their hands.
Usually, if an inspector finds a problem, it’s the kind of thing that can be quickly remedied without a closure order – things such as having enough bleach in the water used to wipe down food-preparation counters, replacing lids on food containers in the walk-in refrigerator, resupplying paper towels in the restrooms or reminding employees to wear gloves or hairnets and to wash their hands.
But other things that represent an immediate danger to health and safety will trigger a closure until the problem can be solved. Those can include a lack of hot water for washing dishes or hands; infestations of rodents, cockroaches or other insects; refrigerators that don’t keep cold food cold enough and steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth; or plumbing problems including backed-up drains and toilets.
Fresno County makes its restaurant inspection reports publicly available at fresnohealthinspections.org, but some of the more recent inspection reports have yet to appear on the site.
