Rodents, plumbing backup: Restaurant closures in the Inland Empire, May 8-14

Restaurant inspections during coronavirus

Due to the state’s order to limit activity during the coronavirus outbreak, health departments in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have halted most routine inspections of restaurants and other food facilities. They are, however, still conducting complaint investigations and other necessary follow-ups.

While the state and counties starting to ease some restrictions, restaurants are still not permitted to reopen their dining rooms (although some are defying those orders). Brent Casey, spokesman for Riverside County’s Department of Environmental Health, said they have been getting a lot of inquiries seeking guidance and clarification about the current rules.

“Our Department has posted the guidance and requirement documents on our website (www.rivcoeh.org) to be ready when the Governor gives our county the approval to move further into phase 2,” he wrote in an email.

Between May 8 and 14, San Bernardino County had three health-hazard-related closures, while Riverside County had one.

Closures

If no reopening date is mentioned, the facility had not been listed as reopened as of this publication.

Noyes Bakery, 341 W. Highland Ave., San Bernardino

  • Closure date: May 11
  • Grade: Not graded
  • Reason for closure: Rodent infestation. An inspector visited to ensure that a previous rodent infestation had been controlled. She found dry and fresh droppings on floors throughout the facility as well as on cake stand plates, in the prep and storage areas and under some of the equipment. On May 14, an inspector returned to investigate a complaint that the bakery was still operating and saw two employees working and taking orders. The owner said they had stayed open to help clients who had pre-ordered. The bakery was told to cease operating immediately. This is the fourth time since 2018 that the bakery has been shut down: in March 2018 for a rodent infestation, in October 2018 for a cockroach infestation and in December 2019 for another rodent infestation. Most recently, it got in trouble in February for displaying an A grade when its current grade is actually a B.

The Green Frog, 7750 Palm Ave. Suite K, Highland

  • Closure date: May 11
  • Grade: Not graded
  • Reason for closure: Rodent infestation. An inspector visited to check whether a past infestation was still under control. (The restaurant had been closed for a week in November because of cockroaches.) This time, she found fresh and old droppings on floors throughout the facility, as well as on top of a seasoning container (one bag had a hole and was thrown out) and in the warewashing area.
  • Reopening date: May 12; the restaurant had received pest control services but still needed to seal some holes and clean up some of the droppings.

Subway, 58080 Twentynine Palms Highway, Yucca Valley

  • Closure date: May 11
  • Grade: Not graded
  • Reason for closure: Rodent infestation. An inspector visited to make sure a rodent infestation that had led to a closure for five days in April hadn’t returned. The inspector found dry and fresh droppings on the floors in the dining area, under the front counter refrigerator and cash register area, and in the back storage and office areas. There were also some dead roaches in the dining and storage/office areas.
  • Reopening date: May 12; an exterminator had visited and the restaurant had been cleaned but some gaps in the walls still needed to be closed off.

Round Table Pizza, 29910 Murrieta Hot Springs Road Suite S, Murrieta

  • Closure date: May 11
  • Grade: Not graded
  • Reason for closure: Plumbing backup. The inspector visited in response to a complaint and found that the restaurant’s floor sinks weren’t draining and water was pooling up.
  • Reopening date: Later that day

Non-closure inspections of note

Here are selected inspections at facilities that weren’t closed but had other significant issues.

Golden Donut Inn, at 16 W. Colton Ave. in Redlands, was visited May 13 for a permit investigation. The inspector found that it had “added a Krispy Krunchy Chicken setup” without the health department’s approval. The doughnut shop was told to immediately cease cooking and selling chicken until it submitted plans and got permission.

The Burger King at 1688 N. Perris Blvd. Suite P in Perris, was inspected May 12 in response to a complaint about rodent droppings. The inspector found droppings on the floors in several areas including under the front counter, under the food-prep sink, under the ice machine and near the walk-in cooler. There was no evidence that food or food-contact surfaces had been contaminated so this was not marked as a critical violation. The restaurant received a passing grade of 92/A but was told to contact pest control and clean or repair several areas. A follow-up was scheduled for next week.

The Jack In The Box at 605 E. Redlands Blvd. in Redlands, was inspected May 11 and received a grade of 92/A with one critical violation. A large container of sliced tomatoes had been sitting out at room temperature for more than two hours. Among the lesser violations, there were five dead cockroaches under the cook’s prep line as well as grease and food debris on some of the equipment. The restaurant had been shut down for a day in November because of a cockroach infestation.

Updates from past weeks

Casa Trejo Tortillas, at 1272 W. 6th St. in San Bernardino, which was closed April 24 for having cockroach and rodent infestations and not enough functioning refrigeration space, was permitted to reopen after an inspector’s fourth follow-up visit on May 8. There was no sign of rodents or roaches and the facility had been cleaned.

The Subway at 1611 E.Main St. in Barstow (in Barstow Station), which was closed March 18 because of a cockroach infestation, was permitted to reopen May 14. The inspector saw no live roaches, although there were three dead ones that needed to be cleaned up.

About this list

This list is published online on Fridays. Any updates as restaurants are reopened will be included in next week’s list.

Inspectors visit food facilities for routine inspections, follow-ups and complaint investigations. In graded inspections, the facility starts with a score of 100 and can lose between 1 and 4 points for any of about 50 health code violations. A grade of 90 or above is an A, 80-89 is a B and 79 or below is a C. Riverside County considers B and C grades to be failing; San Bernardino does not have a pass/fail system. A facility will be closed if the inspector finds an imminent health hazard that can’t immediately be corrected.

For more information on inspections in San Bernardino County, visit www.sbcounty.gov/dph/ehsportal/FacilityList/food. To file a health complaint, go to www.sbcounty.gov/dph/ehsportal/StaticComplaint or call 800-442-2283.

For more information on inspections in Riverside County, visit restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org. To file a complaint, go to www.rivcoeh.org/Complaint or call 888-722-4234 during business hours or 951-782-2968 after-hours.

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