Sacramento pizzeria closed due to cockroaches. What else did inspectors find?
Sacramento County health inspectors closed a local Mountain Mike’s Pizza restaurant after discovering evidence of an active cockroach infestation.
Health inspectors also shut down a Sacramento tea shop due to a lack of hot water.
A total of 10 local businesses — including a supermarket, a Chevron gas station and two Subway sandwich shops — for food safety violations including flies,clogged sinks, dirty floors 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, Aug. 14, through Wednesday, Aug. 20, as of Thursday afternoon.
If an inspection listed below needs clarification, business owners can email The Sacramento Bee at servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
Inspectors shut down Sacramento pizzeria for cockroaches
Mountain Mike’s Pizza, 7660 La Riviera Drive in Sacramento, had 10 major food safety violations on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Sacramento County health inspectors closed the Sacramento pizzeria after finding multiple German cockroaches throughout the facility, indicating an “active infestation,” the Monday, Aug. 1
Health inspectors discovered a total of 10 cockroaches in various areas, including behind the refrigerator, behind the two-compartment sink and under the warewashing machine.
Several “potentially hazardous foods” were outside of proper holding temperatures, including cooked chicken wings and pepperoni pizza.
There was old food residue on parts of a table-counted can opener, the report said, while “old syrup and slime-like residues” on the nozzles and surrounding surfaces on the self-service soda dispenser.
Dough on the food preparation table was left unattended and uncovered during active preparation, and two bags of onions were stored on the floor of the walk-in cooler.
Several areas within the facility were unclean and improperly maintained, posing a potential contamination risk. These areas included the back food prep area, main prep cold unit area, behind the main pizza oven and under the salad bar storage unit.
A glass cup containing an employee’s personal drink was on the food preparation table.
Mountain Mike’s Pizza was reinspected on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and passed with a green placard.
The Sacramento Bee reached out to Mountain Mike’s Pizza for comment but was unable to reach anyone.
Sacramento tea shop closed due to lack to water
Bingsu Tea, 2711 Del Paso Road, Suite 100, in Sacramento, had one violation on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
Health inspectors shut down the Sacramento tea shop due to a lack of hot water.
According to the manager, the hot water had been out for two days prior to the inspection.
“Despite the lack of hot water, the facility was fully operational,” inspectors said in the Aug. 21 report. “After being advised of the issue, the manager agreed to voluntarily close the facility.”
Bingsu Tea has yet to be reinspected as of Thursday, Aug. 21.
Lynn Sok, manager of Bingsu Tea, told The Sacramento Bee workers are working very hard to get the water heater functioning properly.
“The repairs are taking a longer time due to complication of the space and the unit size requirements,” Sok said. “Bingsu Tea is on the process of repair and should be back up and running very soon. This shutdown was due to hot water issues and had nothing to do with sanitization of the business.”
Subway sandwich shops had cockroaches, unsafe foods
Subway, 5031 Fruitridge Road in Sacramento, had eight violations on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
Inspectors gave the Sacramento sandwich spot a yellow placard after discovering that the floor sink below the three-compartment sink and mop sink was “clogged and unable to drain. A plumber had been contacted at the time of the inspection. Several foods, including tuna, cheese, chicken and steak measured outside of proper temperatures. Sliced tomatoes and veggie patties that measured outside of the temperature range considered safe were discarded.
There were four dead German cockroach nymphs on a glue trap in the cabinet under the handwash sink.
There were four dead German cockroach nymphs observed on a glue trap in the cabinet under the handwash sink.
The shared garbage and recycling dumpsters were open at the time of the inspection, and one restroom wasn’t accessible at the due to storage of equipment for remodeling.
There was no food safety manager certificate during the time of the inspection, a repeat violation, and the posted health permit wasn’t current.
Subway had yet to be reinspected as of Thursday, Aug. 21.
Subway, 5150 Fair Oaks Blvd. Suite 103 in Carmichael, had nine violations on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
The sandwich shop received a yellow placard after inspectors measured meatballs outside of proper holding temperature.
There wasn’t enough sanitizer in the warewashing sink or on a towel at the front counter.
A shelf less than six inches from the floor was holding various retail foods in the freezer.
Raw wood shelves were in use underneath the front counter register. Owners were told to either remove or seal the shelves with semi-gloss paint.
A pack of unfolded food boxes was stored on the floor near the office area.
The restroom door wasn’t able to close fully but itself, and there was a gap greater than a quarter-inch underneath the back exit door.
Subway had yet to be reinspected as of Thursday, Aug. 21.
Local grocery store, Mexican restaurant cited for safety violations
Ohgane Korean BBQ, 2839 Zinfandel Drive in Rancho Cordova, had six violations on Friday, Aug. 15.
Health inspectors gave the Korean barbecue restaurant a yellow placard after discovering several “potentially hazardous foods” – including shrimp tempura and cooked broccoli – outside of proper holding temperatures.
There were no paper towels inside the dispenser at a hand sink, and no paper towel inside the back employee restroom.
Inspectors saw an employee drinking from an open cup walking towards the main kitchen preparation and service area, and told the manager to ask the employee to wash hands after handling a personal drink.
Buckets of sauce were stored on the floor. There were ladles stored a bucket of stagnant water at the cook’s line, and mopheads in a mop sink
The restaurant was reinspected on Monday, Aug. 18, and received a green placard.
Cafeteria 15L/The Park, 1116 15th St. in Sacramento, had 18 violations on Monday, Aug. 18.
The American restaurant was cited after health inspectors observed several potentially hazardous foods outside of proper holding temperatures, including watermelon, rice noodles and sliced tomato.
Several foods including shell pasta and chicken stock were improper cooled, and cooked chicken was placed below raw fish and work in the walk-in.
There were three flies in the salad bar area.
The in-use automatic dishwasher in the kitchen didn’t have enough sanitizer.
The soap dispenser at the main bar was broken.
Health inspectors found a potato cut in half in a box of whole potatoes under the prep table
A kitchen employee had an expired food handler card.
Cafeteria 15L/The Park was reinspected on Monday, Aug. 19 and received an additional yellow placard due to repeat violations.
The restaurant underwent another inspection on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and passed with a green placard.
Fire Wings, 2721 Del Paso Road, Suite 110, in Sacramento, had 10 violations on Monday, Aug. 18.
The chicken wing restaurant received a yellow placard after cooked and raw chicken wings measured outside of the temperature range considered safe.
A pound of raw chicken wings was found “unfit for human consumption” and tossed in the trash, according to the Aug. 18 report.
There was no hand soap by the back kitchen hand sink.
Inspectors saw “black residue” on a soda machine nozzle, old food debris on the floor below the fryer and ice build-up on a walk-in freezer condensation pipe, the Aug. 18 report said.
There was a leaking pipe next to the floor sink below the front service counter, which was a repeat violation.
Inspectors saw an employee backpack and personal items stored above food items in dry storage shelves.
Fire Wings passed a reinspection on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and received a green placard.
Chevron, 4000 S Land Park Drive in Sacramento, had six violations on Monday, Aug. 18.
Inspectors gave the Chevron gas station a yellow placard after discovering that the handwashing station in warewashing room was blocked.
Sanitizer was missing in the facility, and foods were improperly stored at room temperature.
There was “slime mold-like accumulation” inside the ice machine, the Aug. 18 report said, and the floor under the ice machine was “wet and unclean.”
Personal clothing was stored on top of boxes of liquor.
The gas station successfully passed reinspection on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Midtown Market Deli & Grill, 2828 Q St,, Suite B, in Sacramento, had 16 violations on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Inspectors gave the deli a yellow placard after finding dead and dying cockroaches in a cabinet, on the floor adjacent to the cold-top reach-in refrigerator and on glue traps below the warewash sink at the cooks line.
Several “potentially hazardous foods” measured outside of the temperature range considered safe, including cooked rice, butter curry chicken, sliced turkey and ground beef.
A rice scoop had rice build-up, and a meat slicer had old food residues.
Multiple containers of food in the three-door, reach-in refrigerator didn’t have coverings, and a container with raw ground beef was stored on top of a box with produce.
Inspectors found grease and debris buildup below all cooking equipment, on shelving throughout the kitchen and the floor and wall below the warewash and prep sink.
There was “heavy dust buildup” on all ceiling tiles in the kitchen area in the floor sink below the preparation sink, the Aug. 19 report said.
The paper towel dispenser at a hand sink was empty and “in disrepair,” the report said.
Midtown Market Deli & Grill passed reinspection on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Taqueria My Jalisco, 4307 Elkhorn Blvd., Suite A2, in Sacramento, had 11 violations on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Inspectors gave the Mexican restaurant a yellow placard after seeing an employee fail to wash their hands or their replace gloves after handling raw meats before handling ready-to-eat foods.
An employee lacked knowledge of food safety procedures, including hot and cold holding temperatures.
Several food items were outside of proper holding temperatures, including shredded cheese, chicken, pork and beef. This was a repeat violation.
Around 10 containers of ground beans were cooling improperly, a repeat violation. Meat was improperly thawing in a cart.
Health inspectors found old food debris buildup on the table-mounted can opener.
Unapproved household chest freezers were in use at the facility.
Taqueria My Jalisco had yet to be reinspected as of Thursday, Aug. 21.
Del Valle Supermarket, 78770 Florin Road in Sacramento, had eight violations on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
The supermarket was cited after inspectors measured several potentially hazardous foods outside of proper holding temperatures, including cut corn and nacho cheese, and found two flies hovering over the food prep areas.
Staff members lacked food safety knowledge in several areas, including hot holding temperatures and how to calibrate a thermometer. The grocery store was missing a probe thermometer.
Several sauces in squeeze bottles on the shelf lacked labels.
An ice scoop handle was in contact with ice in the ice machine, a repeat violation.
A door was propped open at the time of the inspection.
Del Valle Supermarket had yet to be reinspected as of Thursday, Aug. 21.
Capitol Garage, 1500 K St. in Sacramento, had seven violations on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
Inspectors gave the restaurant a yellow placard after watching an employee use their bare hand to check the temperature of food.
There were no paper towels in the women’s restroom.
Health inspectors said sliced cheese meastured outside of proper holding temperatures.
A restaurant employee’s beverage lacking a lid was on the shelf above the prep cooler cold top.
There was a grease spill on the floor behind the fryer, and another grease spill at the tallow bin.
Capitol Garage was reinspected on Thursday, Aug. 21, and passed with a green placard.
