Roaches, flies and grime. See Sacramento County restaurant inspections for June

Every week, Sacramento County health inspectors visit restaurants, food trucks, markets and other food spots to make sure they’re following the rules.

When they don’t, businesses can be cited — or shut down.

In June, inspectors closed a local bakery and food truck for food safety violations ranging from live cockroaches crawling near the stove to improperly stored raw meat.

Meanwhile, five eateries received yellow placards for food safety violations ranging from live cockroaches crawling near the stove to improperly stored raw meat. Other reports reveal that inspectors found flies in the kitchen, sticky shelves and beef dumplings left at an unsafe temperature on a countertop.

What is a health citation?

While a yellow placard signals two or more major violations, these are typically corrected or mitigated during the inspection, according to the Sacramento County Retail Food Inspection Guide.

A red placard, however, signals “imminent danger to public health and safety” and suspends the health permit until violations are corrected. This could include, but is not limited to, major vermin contamination.

In contrast, a green placard means a restaurant passed inspection.

The county performs about 14,000 inspections annually, with 97% of establishments passing, spokesman Ken Casparis previously told The Sacramento Bee.

Approximately 1% of inspections result in a closure, he said.

Here’s what inspectors found in June:

Cockroaches found at Sacramento Indian restaurant

India Village Food, 8865 Folsom Blvd. in Sacramento, had 17 major food safety violations on Monday, June 2.

Sacramento County health inspectors gave the Indian eatery a yellow placard after discovering four dead cockroaches near the warewash sink, water heater and on the floor of the dry food storage room.

Inspectors also found two live cockroaches in the same storage area.

Raw chicken was improperly stored above vegetable samosas in the two-door reach-in cooler and above paneer cheese in the freezer — a repeat violation.

Labels were missing on bulk spice containers and inspectors noted “old food debris” and dust buildup under the dough prep table, inside walk-in refrigerator racks and inside the buffet reach-in cooler.

In the employee restroom, the hand sink lacked paper towels due to a broken dispenser.

Multiple potentially hazardous foods — including chicken curry, vegetable curry, lentil curry, tandoori chicken, and cooked rice — measured at unsafe temperatures. This, too, was a repeat violation.

India Village Food was reinspected on Tuesday, June 3, and received a green placard after passing.

Carmichael pho restaurant cited for roaches, too-warm chicken

Pho House, 6436 Fair Oaks Blvd. in Carmichael, had six health violations on Monday, June 2.

The Vietnamese restaurant received a yellow placard after inspectors found 20 to 30 pounds of raw chicken improperly thawing in a two-compartment prep sink. The chicken, which measured too warm, was discarded.

Health officials also found approximately 17 dead cockroaches in the building, including beneath the stock pot broiler, in the dry storage area and on glue boards.

Additional violations included grease accumulation on the exhaust hood, behind cooking equipment and near the water heater.

Pho House passed reinspection on Tuesday, June 3, and received a green placard.

Sacramento bakery closed for bugs, flies and backed up sink

L’Avenue Hats & Bakery, 9645 Folsom Blvd. in Sacramento, was shut down on Tuesday, June 10, after health inspectors documented 20 major violations.

Inspectors found a total of 29 German cockroaches in various locations, including behind the warewash sink backsplash, under the freezer and on a glue trap. They also spotted flies in the kitchen.

The bakery’s back kitchen hand sink was completely blocked by a preparation table — a repeat violation, according to the June 10 report.

Several food items, including fried bread rolls, raw eggs, sausage, and cottage cheese, measured outside of the safe temperature range.

The bakery had not obtained a food safety certification, and California food handler cards were not available for review.

An employee’s water bottle with a screw-on cap was stored on a food prep table — another repeat violation.

Inspectors also found semi-frozen beef improperly thawing at room temperature in the prep sink.

Inside the three-door refrigerator, raw chicken was stored above mashed potatoes and other ready-to-eat foods. A bag of onions was stored on the floor of the dry storage area.

L’Avenue Hats & Bakery was reinspected on Wednesday, June 11, and received a green placard after passing.

Local breakfast restaurant cited for flies and unsafe food

Kitchen 15, 1630 K St. in Sacramento, had four major violations on Thursday, June 5.

The American restaurant, which specializes in breakfast and lunch, received a yellow placard after several “potentially hazardous foods” measured outside of proper holding temperatures, according to the June 5 report.

Those foods included potatoes, whole eggs, pooled eggs, sausages, milk and heavy cream.

Health inspectors said hollandaise source and garlic in oil were not discarded after four hours, a violation of time as a public health control.

The restaurant had three flies in its food preparation areas.

Inspectors found three soiled wiping towels with no sanitizer stored on the counter.

Kitchen 15 passed reinspection on Friday, June 6, and received a green placard.

Sacramento supermarket cited for too-warm beef dumplings

Barg Afghan Market and Restaurant, 6321 Mack Road in Sacramento, had 15 food safety violations on Friday, June 13.

Health inspectors gave the supermarket a yellow placard after discovering that a pan of beef dumplings left on the front counter measured outside the safe temperature range.

An employee was observed washing a wok spatula and kabob skewer without sanitizing them.

The business lacked a food manager certification and one employee did not have a food handler card.

Raw chicken kabobs were stored on top of raw lamb in the meat display cooler, violating storage guidelines. A bag of potatoes was stored on the floor near the back door.

In the market area, prepackaged nuts and cookies were missing labels. The business also lacked chlorine sanitizer test strips, and one refrigerator showed a potentially hazardous ambient temperature.

Traps were stored improperly on faucet handles, and there was a mop head inside a mop bucket.

Personal items including a water pot and drinks were placed on the prep sink drainboard.

In the restroom, the required hand-washing sign was missing.

The restaurant was reinspected on June 16 and was given a green placard.

Sacramento County health inspectors close local food truck

Takeiros Taqueria, 8531 Thys Court in Sacramento, was closed by county health inspectors on Wednesday, June 25, after the food truck failed to “maintain proper holding temperatures for potentially hazardous foods.”

The food truck was re-inspected the next day and allowed to re-open.

Sacramento dollar store cited for dead cockroach and clogged sink

Dollar Tree, 5020 Madison Ave. in Sacramento, was cited for seven major food safety violations on Wednesday, June 25, and received a yellow placard.

Inspectors said the employee restroom was unusable. The sink was clogged, soap dispenser was on the floor, no paper towels were available, and toilet liners were out.

The store also lacked hot water, with the temperature at the sink reaching only 78 degrees — a repeat violation.

A dead cockroach was discovered on the floor across from the mop sink, though no other vermin activity was noted.

Inspectors also found syrup “spillaged” on a shelf storing candies. The shelf was cleaned the same day.

The store was cited for nonfunctional plumbing at the employee handwashing sink.

The store had not been reinspected as of Wednesday, June 2.

This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 6:30 AM.