Why is a crib in kitchen storage? See SLO County’s latest restaurant health violations

Kaytlyn Leslie
·5 min read

One restaurant had a crib in the storage room, another had fly strips in the kitchen and a third didn’t have hot water during the inspection.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in December during dozens 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.

One of the most notable conditions found during December’s inspections was at Corona’s Mexican Restaurant in Arroyo Grande.

The restaurant, located at 1263 E. Grand Ave., was required to not only once again be reinspected after violations were found in October, but was required to pay for the reinspection due to repeat offenses.

According to the inspection notes, those repeat violations included things like eggs being stored above ready-to-eat foods, multiple uncovered buckets of beans and chicken in the walk-in refrigerator, open bags of beans and sugar in the dry storage near chemicals, a buck of water in the walk-in refrigerator catching droplets from a fan, and food grime throughout the facility.

An inspector also observed a crib with a mattress being kept in the restaurant’s back storage room — which the restaurant was ordered to remove from the premises immediately.

The restaurant also once again did not have a valid food handler of food manager certification available on site for the inspector to review, according to the inspection notes. It was told it would have 60 days to send proof of food safety certification to the inspector or face repercussions.

Because of the extent of the violations once again found during the inspection, the restaurant could face additional fees if those are not corrected ahead of its next reinspection.

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.

Lowest-rated restaurants

Here are the lows of the 121 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in December.

Paleteria Y Neveria Las Michocacanas #2, 1463 Creston Road, Paso Robles

Points lost: 17

Notes: During a routine inspection in December, the Paso Robles Mexican food restaurant was found to have a number of violations. Those included employees not being educated in “proper food contact sanitation,” items being kept in the hand-wash sink, and chlorine sanitizer not being used to clean food contact surfaces. The restaurant was also told to stop keeping fly strips over the food prep sink to prevent cross contamination and to ensure the door to the toilet, which opens to the food prep area, has a self-closing mechanism installed. It was also told to post its health permit in a conspicuous location.

Sea Venture Restaurant, 100 Oceanview, Pismo Beach

Points lost: 15.5

Notes: During its inspection in December, the Pismo Beach hotel restaurant lost the majority of its points for repeatedly packaging food using reduced-oxygen packaging without a state-approved plan to do so. The restaurant was ordered to immediately discontinue that practice until it has a state-approved plan in place. Meanwhile, an inspector noted they were unable to locate or verify food safety certifications at the restaurant, there was no splash guard between the hand-washing sink and the food prep sink to prevent cross contamination, and a cork board was kept on the wall above one of the restaurant’s three-compartment sinks.

2560 Vons, 1758 W. Grand Ave, Grover Beach

Points lost: 13.5

Notes: The Vons in Grover Beach lost points during its routine inspection because it did not have hot water for a half hour while the inspector was at the grocery store. During the time, the inspector observed employees “in multiple departments continue to prepare food, serve food, sanitize equipment, and wash dishes while the facility had no hot water available.” The produce-washing sink was also observed to have dust and debris in and around the sink, and the floor of the women’s employee restroom was seen to have grime on it.

Highest-rated restaurants

These stores and restaurants received scores of 99 to 100, with few to no violations.

San Luis Obispo

  • Honor Farm, 880 Oklahoma Ave.

North Coast

  • Morro Bay House of Jerky, 1130 Front St., Morro Bay

South County

  • Bee House Thai Cuisine, 245 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach

  • Five Below, 333 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach

  • Perfetto Caffe, 1750 El Camino Real, Grover beach

  • The Quarterdeck Seafood Bar and Grill, 1500 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

  • Taco Bell #20455, 867 Oak Park Blvd., Pismo Beach

  • Virt Juice, 1200 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande

North County

  • Appy’s Liquor, 2816 Spring St., Paso Robles

  • Brown Butter Cookie Company, 801 12th St., Paso Robles

  • Cass Winery, 7350 Linne Road, Paso Robles

  • Della’s, 831 13th St., Paso Robles

  • In Bloom, 1845 Spring St., Paso Robles

  • La Salsa Market Deli, 120 N. 3rd St., Shandon

  • Marv’s Pizza and Sport Bar, 729 12th St., Paso Robles

  • McDonald’s #26155, 1859 Ramada Drive, Paso Robles

  • Micheladas Michinaloa, 622 12th St., Paso Robles

  • Paso Robles Mart, 2340 Spring St., Paso Robles

  • Pasolivo, 1229 Park St., Paso Robles

  • Villa San Juliette, 6385 Cross Canyon Drive, San Miguel

  • Shekamoo Grill, 622 12th St., Paso Robles

  • Spice of Life, 1306 Pine St., Paso Robles

  • Starbucks #9510, 1495 Creston Road, Paso Robles

  • Stein’s BBQ & Catering, 2917 Union Road, Paso Robles

  • Veterans Memorial Building, 240 Scott St., Paso Robles

  • Via Caravaggio, 1803 Spring St., Paso Robles