Dead rat, cockroaches close Sacramento restaurants. What else did inspectors find?
Sacramento County health inspectors closed a local soul food restaurant and Little Caesars pizzeria after discovering a dead rat, live cockroaches and other evidence of vermin infestations.
Inspectors also cited local eateries serving up Mediterranean and Salvadorian cuisine for food safety violations ranging from a dirty meat slicer to flies and improperly stored meat.
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.
The Bee publishes weekly updates on health inspections across Sacramento County.
Here are the results of Sacramento County food facility inspections for Thursday, July 31, through Wednesday, Aug. 6, as of Thursday afternoon.
If an inspection listed below needs clarification, business owners can email The Sacramento Bee at servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
Sacramento restaurant closed for dead rat, rodent droppings
Creole Soul Restaurant & Bar, 2026 Broadway in Sacramento, had two major food safety violations on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
Sacramento County health inspectors shut down the Sacramento Southern food restaurant after finding a dead rat caught in a trap on the back soda syrup rack.
Inspectors also found approximately 22 rodent droppings in several areas, including under the dry storage racks by the water heater and on the soda syrup boxes and the two-door cooler.
Additionally, a back door was propped open during the inspection and the netting had a gap greater than a quarter-inch at the bottom.
Creole Soul Restaurant & Bar was reinspected on Thursday, Aug. 7, and passed with a green placard.
Kaneisha Straughter, co-owner of Creole Soul Restaurant & Bar, said the issues that hut down her restaurant were due to building ownership and were fixed with three hours of the health inspection.
“The landlord fixed everything that needed to be fixed,” Straughter told The Bee via phone on Thursday.
Cockroaches shut down Little Caesars pizzeria
Little Caesars, 3901 Madison Ave., Suite 95, in North Highlands, had seven food safety violations on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
According to health inspectors, the chain pizzeria had several pepperoni pizzas on the speed rack outside of proper public health controls. This was a chronic repeat violation.
Health inspectors found one live adult German cockroach on the cove base tile behind the one-door, upright freezer.
There were approximately five to eight nymphs on the floor and a cracked tile on the mop sink, and one adult cockroach behind the electrical outlet plate where the freezer was plugged.
Inspectors also found 10 dead cockroaches in the facility, including under the front counter refrigerator.
Health inspectors saw an employee’s water bottle on the preparation table.
Containers holding garlic, parsley and baking powder were open and lacked lids.
There was ice build-up inside the one-door, upright freezer.
Health inspectors found a sanitizer bucket near the front counter with no ammonia. This was a repeat violation.
Finally, Little Caesars was cited for broken tiles around the mop sink and peeling ceiling tiles along the walkway to the restroom.
The pizza restaurant had yet to be reinspected as of Thursday, Aug. 7.
A Bee reporter reached out to Little Caesars on Thursday but was unable to speak to a restaurant representative.
Mediterranean restaurant cited for meat residue on equipment
East Market & Restaurant, 3405 El Camino Ave. in Sacramento, had 18 food health violations on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
Several “potentially hazardous foods” at the Mediterranean restaurant were outside of proper holding temperatures including lamb shanks, ground meat and a large container of raw beef.
A meat slicer had visible signs of meat residue on and around the blade.
An employee was unaware of proper manual warewashing steps.
Health inspectors found employees’ drinks on the food prep counter.
The facility had several flies in the near back kitchen area due to an open back door.
Frozen lamb shanks were improperly thawed in the prep sink without running water.
Inspectors found several open bags of flour in the baking area, and several boxes of food and food-related containers stored directly on the ground within the kitchen/bakery area.
Several areas were unclean with old food debris and/or residue, includinge the bakery prep area, under the prep table and the door handle of the walk-in freezer. There was heavy encrusted flour build-up on the large mixer.
The facility had no chlorine test strips at time of the inspection.
East Market & Restaurant passed reinspection on Wednesday, Aug. 6, and received a green placard.
Salvadorian food was at unsafe temperatures
Pupusa Central, 3408 Northgate Blvd., Suite 1 and 2, in Sacramento, had 14 food safety violations on Thursday, July 31.
The Salvadorian restaurant had several foods outside of the temperature range considered safe, including mashed beans, cheese, chicharron and birria.
Approximately eight gallons of red beans were being improperly cooled in a stockpot in the freezer after being cooked the day before. The beans were voluntarily discarded.
During the inspection, an employee picked up a pan that fell on the floor and placed it directly on top of a clean cooking pan at the cooks line.
Three employees at the restaurant had incomplete food handler cards.
The restaurant’s menu was missing a consumer advisory statement for breakfast eggs cooked in any style. This was a repeat violation.
A case of whole chickens in the freezer were not covered.
The hot water in the three-compartment sink reached a maximum of 100 degrees, 20 degrees below the proper range.
The self-service chips station next to the point-of-sale counter was not protected from contamination, a repeat violation.
Pupusa Central was reinspected on Friday, Aug. 1, and passed with a green placard.
