What’s that smell? Here’s why inspectors closed a trio of Fresno County restaurants in May

The unappetizing odor of sewer gas coming from floor drains was one reason two restaurants were temporarily closed for almost a week at a popular Fresno County freeway travel stop following health inspections in May.

But however pungent those fumes, another serious problem at two eateries at the Chase Valero travel stop near Coalinga involved “major food temperature violations” over walk-in refrigerators that were not keeping cold food at a safe temperature to inhibit bacterial growth.

Both the Baja Fresh and Subway Sandwich restaurants at the travel stop at Highway 198 and Interstate 5 in southwestern Fresno County were closed on May 18 by an inspector from the Environmental Health Division of the county’s Department of Public Health.

The two restaurants were allowed to reopen May 24 following a reinspection to verify that the problems had been corrected.

In southeast Fresno, the commissary for the Chayo’s Tacos #2 food truck was closed for a day on May 24 for lack of hot water. The commissary reopened a day later.

The commissary on East Butler Avenue near Orange Avenue is the home base for numerous taco and food trucks. Another taco truck from that commissary was closed for about nine days in April for operating with an expired permit.

A lack of hot water is one of the most common violations inspectors from the Department of Public Health find when they make their routine visits to restaurants and other food and drink establishments. 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.

When inspectors visit a restaurant or other food service business, there is a lengthy and detailed list of more than 50 things that draw their scrutiny. They include:

• Whether the manager and all employees have the required food safety or food-handling certificates.

• Hygiene of individual employees.

• Ways to keep cold food at or below 41 degrees and hot food above 135 degrees.

• Use of proper sterilization for counters, tables, utensils and cookware.

• Overall cleanliness.

• Proper drainage of sinks and floor drains.

• Restrooms stocked with supplies.

• Whether the business has the proper license or permit.

If inspectors find a problem, it’s often something that can be fixed on the spot – issues like having enough bleach or sanitizer in the water used to wipe down food-preparation areas, putting lids back onto containers in walk-in refrigerators, replenishing soap, paper towels and toilet paper in the restrooms, or reminding employees to wash their hands and wear gloves and hairnets.

But occasionally, more serious violations pop up that create a need to shut down a place on the spot, sometimes for a few hours or a day or two, sometimes longer.

Those immediate concerns include infestation of rodents, cockroaches and other insects; refrigerators that don’t keep food cold enough or steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth; or, in the case of October’s closures, plumbing problems such as no hot water or backed-up drains or sinks.

For example, a restaurant on Cedar Avenue in central Fresno was closed for about three weeks in April after an inspection found an infestation of cockroaches and rodents, as well as restrooms that were not operable.

And a longtime doughnut shop at Belmont Avenue and Fresno Street apparently remains closed since it was shut down by an inspection more than three months ago and found unsafe for occupancy. Health and fire inspectors discovered that the ventilation hood at Christy’s Donuts was not working, and grease had accumulated in the building’s attic next to the water heater and was leaking into light fixtures.