5 restaurants fail Pima County health inspections in July after 9 failed in June
- Updated
Here's a look at the most recent health inspection failures and those from last month.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
History: The restaurant has had exclusively received "good" and "excellent" ratings since its opening in 2008. These were its first failed inspections.
What the inspector saw: Eight foodborne illness risk factors earned the location a probationary rating. Those violations included a manager on site without “knowledge of foodborne disease prevention,” employee drinks stored above food, trays blocking hand-washing stations, raw eggs sitting on top of cooked pork, walk-in shelves “heavily encrusted with food debris,” unsafe food temperatures, and food stored without adequate date marking. Most were corrected on site.
Follow-up: The restaurant failed a July 11 follow-up, but passed another on July 21.
Response: Messages left with a manager were not returned.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
History: This location has had exclusively "good" and "excellent" ratings since opening in 2000.
What the inspector saw: Seven risk factors, which earned the location a probationary rating. Among them were a manager who did not take initiative to correct problems, poor hand-washing and food handling practices, an obstructed hand-washing station, inadequately cleaned equipment including “grossly unsanitary” cutting boards, unsafe food storage temperatures and inadequately labeled chemicals. Several were addressed during the inspection.
Follow-up: The restaurant passed a July 18 follow-up inspection.
Response: In a written response, operations manager Scott Seather said, “We were surprised and disappointed to hear that one of our Tucson Village Inn restaurants … failed a recent health inspection. When we heard the news, we immediately took action and investigated the situation. Village Inn promptly passed a health re-inspection, and will continue to make our guests’ and employees’ safety the number one priority.”
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
History: Since 2002, the restaurant has received "good" and "excellent" ratings exclusively. These were its first failed inspections.
What the inspector saw: Eight risk factors, earning the restaurant a probationary rating. These included obstructed hand-washing sinks, eggs stored above ready-to-eat foods, improper food handling practices, inadequate food cooling practices, no customer disclosure about the risks of undercooked foods, and unlabeled cleaning chemicals.
Follow-up: The location failed an Aug. 1 follow-up inspection.
Response: Ernest Aguirre, the restaurant’s owner, said most of the violations were corrected between the two inspections, and he expects to pass the second follow-up. “I think we should be passing the inspection,” he said. “I’ve been checking the temperatures and everything is good.”
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
History: Other than one other "needs improvement" rating, the restaurant has received exclusively "good" and "excellent" ratings.
What the inspector saw: A handful of violations during a July 19 inspection, earning it a "needs improvement" rating, which is not as serious as a fail but still prompts a follow-up inspection. Among the violations were an obstructed hand-washing station, unsafe food temperatures, and the use of unapproved pest control chemicals.
Follow-up: The restaurant failed its first reinspection on July 20, but passed the next day.
Response: Owner Sung Ho Kang said, “It’s not going to happen again.”
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
History: Records of previous inspections are not available on the health department's website, but co-owner Ramiro Flores said the restaurant has been open since 2013 and passed all previous inspections.
What the inspector saw: Nine risk factors on July 25, earning the restaurant a probationary rating. The violations included a manager who did not “demonstrate adequate food safety knowledge” and noted to the inspector that they use Google to look up requirements; no procedures in place for “vomiting or diarrheal” events; inadequate hand-washing and food handling practices; raw bacon stored above ready-to-eat foods; food held at unsafe temperatures; and no disclosure of undercooked food hazards on its menu. Several were corrected on site.
Follow-up: Flores said the restaurant was reinspected Friday and passed, though documentation of the follow-up was not immediately available on the county's website.
Response: Flores said the restaurant has taken a number of measures since the inspection, including purchasing new cooling equipment, signing employees up for training, and putting food safety and hand-washing signs up for workers. "We just wanted to make it as easy as possible for our cooks to comply and have the knowledge," he said.
- Updated
4,600: Food service licenses in Pima County
527: Excellent, good or passed inspections in July
16: Needs improvement inspections in July
7: Failed or probationary inspections in July
Source: Pima County Health Department
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In June:
History: Since September 2015, has received only ratings of excellent.
What the inspector saw: Six critical violations on June 3, earning the restaurant a “probationary” rating. These included improper food cooling and handling practices, a meat saw “encrusted with meat debris,” dishes being washed but not sanitized, and inadequate labeling of food. Additionally, several roaches were seen coming out of the floor sink.
Follow-up: While all of the violations were resolved by the June 13 follow-up inspection, the store did not pay its reinspection fee, which resulted in a failed inspection.
Response: Several attempts to contact the store for comment were unsuccessful.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In June:
History: Since 2002, the restaurant has exclusively received ratings of good and excellent. These were its first failed inspections.
What the inspector saw: On June 3, there was no hand sink in the server area, resulting in a “needs improvement” rating. That rating is for restaurants where inspectors find fewer than five critical violations that cannot be resolved immediately.
Follow-up: The restaurant failed two follow-up inspections in June because no sink had been installed, but passed a July 6 inspection.
Response: An owner didn’t return a message seeking comment.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In June:
History: This was the restaurant’s first routine inspection.
What the inspector saw: Eight critical violations, including foods kept at unsafe temps, an employee slicing lemons with bare hands, improper food storage, seashells being used to serve meat products, inconsistent date marking, and raw sushi fish served without a consumer advisory posted.
Follow-up: The restaurant passed a July 1 reinspection.
Response: Jenny Lu, a Joy Buffet manager, said the violations have been corrected and that the inspector “sat down with me personally, and he taught me how to do everything.”
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In June:
History: Since 2014, the meat market has had three good ratings. This was its first failed inspection.
What the inspector saw: Six critical violations on June 22, including unsafe food temperatures, raw oysters stored above canned drinks, beans stored next to raw meat, an employee’s personal drink being stored in an ice machine, improper labeling of shellfish and unsafe storage of cleaning products. Many of the violations were dealt with on-site.
Follow-up: Passed a July 6 reinspection.
Response: Owner Claudia Gonzalez said none of the violations put customers at risk and that they have all been resolved.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In June:
History: Has received mostly good ratings since 2013, but has failed one other time and received one “needs improvement” rating.
What the inspector saw: Six critical violations on June 23, earning the restaurant a probationary rating. Violations included poor hand-washing practices, raw food being stored near ready-to-eat food, fried chicken being stored in a used cardboard box, seasoning and sauce containers covered in encrusted food, food without proper date labeling, and an unlabeled pink liquid.
Follow-up: A reinspection was not done within 10 days of the failed inspection, as is customary, because the restaurant is closed until July 14. A reinspection will be done after it reopens, according to a health department official.
Response: The restaurant was closed the week the Star tried to reach owners or managers for comment.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In June:
History: Since 2008, this location has received exclusively good and excellent ratings.
What the inspector saw: This failed inspection stems from a March inspection in which an inspector saw there was no hand-washing station for a recently installed growler-filling station, resulting in a “needs improvement” rating. On June 23, a hand-washing station had still not been installed. The store is considering removing the growler-filling station, but if it is to remain, the store will need to submit plans to install a hand-washing sink.
Follow-up: There are no records of another follow-up.
Response: A company representative did not respond to requests for comment.
- By Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
In June:
Too-cool chicken and not-cool-enough pizza ingredients helped earn Claim Jumper’s Tucson restaurant a “probationary” rating from the county health department.
On Tuesday, June 7, a county inspector found chicken cooked to under the mandated 165 degrees and a number of pizza ingredients kept at well over the 41 degrees required for potentially hazardous foods. The inspector also saw an employee handle a garbage can and then return to work without washing his hands; food prep utensils with “dry food debris;” and cutting boards being cleaned but not sanitized as required.
Most of the violations were corrected on site with the inspector present, according to a county report.
Probationary status is given when five or more critical violations are found at a restaurant. If critical violations are still present at a follow-up inspection within 10 days, the restaurant “fails.”
Since 2005, Claim Jumper, at 3761 E. Broadway, consistently received “good” and “excellent” ratings, and this inspection was the first it failed.
Claim Jumper Senior Vice President Terry Turney said, “Unfortunately, on the day of the inspection, our staff did not adhere to our high standards, which is totally unacceptable. All violations were corrected on-site during the inspection. We will continue to work closely with the Health Department to ensure that the highest measures of sanitation and safety are maintained for our guests.”
- By Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Inadequate cooling of potentially hazardous foods got the Tanque Verde Swap Meet’s Mercado briefly shut down on June 10.
A county health inspector found that the two walk-in coolers on-site “are not capable of holding food at 41 degrees or less.”
Instead, hot dogs, cheese and beans and other food were found to be 50 degrees or warmer. Additionally, the temperature alarm had been sounding for several hours the day of the visit, indicating unsafe temperatures, and “food service continued” nevertheless, according to the inspection report.
The inspector found an additional five critical violations, which earned the cafeteria a “probationary” rating.
County staff visited the facility the next day and determined that the coolers were functioning properly, and keeping food below required temperatures.
“Facility is OK to do full menu service at this time,” the June 11 follow-up report reads, though it goes on to advise managers to “continue to monitor refrigeration, especially since monsoons are here.”
Beyond the cooler violations, the inspector observed an employee handling food with her bare hands, raw meat being stored above ready-to-eat food and a nonfunctioning dish sanitizer, all of which were corrected that day.
A statement provided by the swap meet’s operators says that they have “operated 10 different concessions and drink stands for over 40 years and this is the only incident that has ever closed a stand. It was immediately rectified and the Health Department cleared us to open the next day.”
Additionally, the “employee in question” for some of the violations will take a county-administered food management course.
“We are confident this will not recur,” it goes on to say.
This is the restaurant’s first failed inspection, and it has received ratings of “good” and “excellent” exclusively since 2000.
Normally follow-up inspections at failed facilities are conducted within 10 days of the inspection. However, because the Mercado is only open on the weekends, the visit is scheduled for Friday, June 24, a county spokeswoman said.
- By Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Inadequate hand-washing practices and unsanitary meat handling, among other violations, earned local chain BK Tacos’ North First Avenue location a “probationary” rating from the county health department Wednesday.
The county inspector found eight critical violations, most of which were resolved or addressed on-site.
The inspector found meats kept below established temperatures for hot food, observed a BK employee handle a garbage can with gloves and then clean them off with dishwashing sprayer before returning to work, the same employee washing hands without soap, and cooked ribs ready for eating being placed on a cutting board covered with raw meat juices.
Additionally, the dish sanitizer tested negative for sanitizer three times, some food was stored without dates, and several bottles of cleaning supplies were stored without proper labeling.
Daphne Diaz, a BK shift supervisor, said the problems, which she described as “minor,” are “already fixed.” She added that a re-inspection is scheduled for Monday, and that all of the restaurant’s staff have been registered for the next available food safety class in July “so that this doesn’t happen anymore.”
The BK location, at 2680 N. First Ave., has received mostly “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2006, though it has received two “needs improvement” ratings. The most recent inspection was its first “probationary” rating, which was until recently known as a “provisional” rating.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
4,600: Food service licenses in Pima County
708: Excellent, good or passed inspections in June
25: Needs improvement inspections in June
9: Provisional and failed inspections in June
Source: Pima County Health Department
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
History: The restaurant has had exclusively received "good" and "excellent" ratings since its opening in 2008. These were its first failed inspections.
What the inspector saw: Eight foodborne illness risk factors earned the location a probationary rating. Those violations included a manager on site without “knowledge of foodborne disease prevention,” employee drinks stored above food, trays blocking hand-washing stations, raw eggs sitting on top of cooked pork, walk-in shelves “heavily encrusted with food debris,” unsafe food temperatures, and food stored without adequate date marking. Most were corrected on site.
Follow-up: The restaurant failed a July 11 follow-up, but passed another on July 21.
Response: Messages left with a manager were not returned.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
History: This location has had exclusively "good" and "excellent" ratings since opening in 2000.
What the inspector saw: Seven risk factors, which earned the location a probationary rating. Among them were a manager who did not take initiative to correct problems, poor hand-washing and food handling practices, an obstructed hand-washing station, inadequately cleaned equipment including “grossly unsanitary” cutting boards, unsafe food storage temperatures and inadequately labeled chemicals. Several were addressed during the inspection.
Follow-up: The restaurant passed a July 18 follow-up inspection.
Response: In a written response, operations manager Scott Seather said, “We were surprised and disappointed to hear that one of our Tucson Village Inn restaurants … failed a recent health inspection. When we heard the news, we immediately took action and investigated the situation. Village Inn promptly passed a health re-inspection, and will continue to make our guests’ and employees’ safety the number one priority.”
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
History: Since 2002, the restaurant has received "good" and "excellent" ratings exclusively. These were its first failed inspections.
What the inspector saw: Eight risk factors, earning the restaurant a probationary rating. These included obstructed hand-washing sinks, eggs stored above ready-to-eat foods, improper food handling practices, inadequate food cooling practices, no customer disclosure about the risks of undercooked foods, and unlabeled cleaning chemicals.
Follow-up: The location failed an Aug. 1 follow-up inspection.
Response: Ernest Aguirre, the restaurant’s owner, said most of the violations were corrected between the two inspections, and he expects to pass the second follow-up. “I think we should be passing the inspection,” he said. “I’ve been checking the temperatures and everything is good.”
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
History: Other than one other "needs improvement" rating, the restaurant has received exclusively "good" and "excellent" ratings.
What the inspector saw: A handful of violations during a July 19 inspection, earning it a "needs improvement" rating, which is not as serious as a fail but still prompts a follow-up inspection. Among the violations were an obstructed hand-washing station, unsafe food temperatures, and the use of unapproved pest control chemicals.
Follow-up: The restaurant failed its first reinspection on July 20, but passed the next day.
Response: Owner Sung Ho Kang said, “It’s not going to happen again.”
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
History: Records of previous inspections are not available on the health department's website, but co-owner Ramiro Flores said the restaurant has been open since 2013 and passed all previous inspections.
What the inspector saw: Nine risk factors on July 25, earning the restaurant a probationary rating. The violations included a manager who did not “demonstrate adequate food safety knowledge” and noted to the inspector that they use Google to look up requirements; no procedures in place for “vomiting or diarrheal” events; inadequate hand-washing and food handling practices; raw bacon stored above ready-to-eat foods; food held at unsafe temperatures; and no disclosure of undercooked food hazards on its menu. Several were corrected on site.
Follow-up: Flores said the restaurant was reinspected Friday and passed, though documentation of the follow-up was not immediately available on the county's website.
Response: Flores said the restaurant has taken a number of measures since the inspection, including purchasing new cooling equipment, signing employees up for training, and putting food safety and hand-washing signs up for workers. "We just wanted to make it as easy as possible for our cooks to comply and have the knowledge," he said.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
In June:
History: Since September 2015, has received only ratings of excellent.
What the inspector saw: Six critical violations on June 3, earning the restaurant a “probationary” rating. These included improper food cooling and handling practices, a meat saw “encrusted with meat debris,” dishes being washed but not sanitized, and inadequate labeling of food. Additionally, several roaches were seen coming out of the floor sink.
Follow-up: While all of the violations were resolved by the June 13 follow-up inspection, the store did not pay its reinspection fee, which resulted in a failed inspection.
Response: Several attempts to contact the store for comment were unsuccessful.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
In June:
History: Since 2002, the restaurant has exclusively received ratings of good and excellent. These were its first failed inspections.
What the inspector saw: On June 3, there was no hand sink in the server area, resulting in a “needs improvement” rating. That rating is for restaurants where inspectors find fewer than five critical violations that cannot be resolved immediately.
Follow-up: The restaurant failed two follow-up inspections in June because no sink had been installed, but passed a July 6 inspection.
Response: An owner didn’t return a message seeking comment.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
In June:
History: This was the restaurant’s first routine inspection.
What the inspector saw: Eight critical violations, including foods kept at unsafe temps, an employee slicing lemons with bare hands, improper food storage, seashells being used to serve meat products, inconsistent date marking, and raw sushi fish served without a consumer advisory posted.
Follow-up: The restaurant passed a July 1 reinspection.
Response: Jenny Lu, a Joy Buffet manager, said the violations have been corrected and that the inspector “sat down with me personally, and he taught me how to do everything.”
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
In June:
History: Since 2014, the meat market has had three good ratings. This was its first failed inspection.
What the inspector saw: Six critical violations on June 22, including unsafe food temperatures, raw oysters stored above canned drinks, beans stored next to raw meat, an employee’s personal drink being stored in an ice machine, improper labeling of shellfish and unsafe storage of cleaning products. Many of the violations were dealt with on-site.
Follow-up: Passed a July 6 reinspection.
Response: Owner Claudia Gonzalez said none of the violations put customers at risk and that they have all been resolved.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
In June:
History: Has received mostly good ratings since 2013, but has failed one other time and received one “needs improvement” rating.
What the inspector saw: Six critical violations on June 23, earning the restaurant a probationary rating. Violations included poor hand-washing practices, raw food being stored near ready-to-eat food, fried chicken being stored in a used cardboard box, seasoning and sauce containers covered in encrusted food, food without proper date labeling, and an unlabeled pink liquid.
Follow-up: A reinspection was not done within 10 days of the failed inspection, as is customary, because the restaurant is closed until July 14. A reinspection will be done after it reopens, according to a health department official.
Response: The restaurant was closed the week the Star tried to reach owners or managers for comment.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
In June:
History: Since 2008, this location has received exclusively good and excellent ratings.
What the inspector saw: This failed inspection stems from a March inspection in which an inspector saw there was no hand-washing station for a recently installed growler-filling station, resulting in a “needs improvement” rating. On June 23, a hand-washing station had still not been installed. The store is considering removing the growler-filling station, but if it is to remain, the store will need to submit plans to install a hand-washing sink.
Follow-up: There are no records of another follow-up.
Response: A company representative did not respond to requests for comment.
- By Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
In June:
Too-cool chicken and not-cool-enough pizza ingredients helped earn Claim Jumper’s Tucson restaurant a “probationary” rating from the county health department.
On Tuesday, June 7, a county inspector found chicken cooked to under the mandated 165 degrees and a number of pizza ingredients kept at well over the 41 degrees required for potentially hazardous foods. The inspector also saw an employee handle a garbage can and then return to work without washing his hands; food prep utensils with “dry food debris;” and cutting boards being cleaned but not sanitized as required.
Most of the violations were corrected on site with the inspector present, according to a county report.
Probationary status is given when five or more critical violations are found at a restaurant. If critical violations are still present at a follow-up inspection within 10 days, the restaurant “fails.”
Since 2005, Claim Jumper, at 3761 E. Broadway, consistently received “good” and “excellent” ratings, and this inspection was the first it failed.
Claim Jumper Senior Vice President Terry Turney said, “Unfortunately, on the day of the inspection, our staff did not adhere to our high standards, which is totally unacceptable. All violations were corrected on-site during the inspection. We will continue to work closely with the Health Department to ensure that the highest measures of sanitation and safety are maintained for our guests.”
- By Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
Inadequate cooling of potentially hazardous foods got the Tanque Verde Swap Meet’s Mercado briefly shut down on June 10.
A county health inspector found that the two walk-in coolers on-site “are not capable of holding food at 41 degrees or less.”
Instead, hot dogs, cheese and beans and other food were found to be 50 degrees or warmer. Additionally, the temperature alarm had been sounding for several hours the day of the visit, indicating unsafe temperatures, and “food service continued” nevertheless, according to the inspection report.
The inspector found an additional five critical violations, which earned the cafeteria a “probationary” rating.
County staff visited the facility the next day and determined that the coolers were functioning properly, and keeping food below required temperatures.
“Facility is OK to do full menu service at this time,” the June 11 follow-up report reads, though it goes on to advise managers to “continue to monitor refrigeration, especially since monsoons are here.”
Beyond the cooler violations, the inspector observed an employee handling food with her bare hands, raw meat being stored above ready-to-eat food and a nonfunctioning dish sanitizer, all of which were corrected that day.
A statement provided by the swap meet’s operators says that they have “operated 10 different concessions and drink stands for over 40 years and this is the only incident that has ever closed a stand. It was immediately rectified and the Health Department cleared us to open the next day.”
Additionally, the “employee in question” for some of the violations will take a county-administered food management course.
“We are confident this will not recur,” it goes on to say.
This is the restaurant’s first failed inspection, and it has received ratings of “good” and “excellent” exclusively since 2000.
Normally follow-up inspections at failed facilities are conducted within 10 days of the inspection. However, because the Mercado is only open on the weekends, the visit is scheduled for Friday, June 24, a county spokeswoman said.
- By Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
Inadequate hand-washing practices and unsanitary meat handling, among other violations, earned local chain BK Tacos’ North First Avenue location a “probationary” rating from the county health department Wednesday.
The county inspector found eight critical violations, most of which were resolved or addressed on-site.
The inspector found meats kept below established temperatures for hot food, observed a BK employee handle a garbage can with gloves and then clean them off with dishwashing sprayer before returning to work, the same employee washing hands without soap, and cooked ribs ready for eating being placed on a cutting board covered with raw meat juices.
Additionally, the dish sanitizer tested negative for sanitizer three times, some food was stored without dates, and several bottles of cleaning supplies were stored without proper labeling.
Daphne Diaz, a BK shift supervisor, said the problems, which she described as “minor,” are “already fixed.” She added that a re-inspection is scheduled for Monday, and that all of the restaurant’s staff have been registered for the next available food safety class in July “so that this doesn’t happen anymore.”
The BK location, at 2680 N. First Ave., has received mostly “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2006, though it has received two “needs improvement” ratings. The most recent inspection was its first “probationary” rating, which was until recently known as a “provisional” rating.
- Murphy Woodhouse Arizona Daily Star
4,600: Food service licenses in Pima County
708: Excellent, good or passed inspections in June
25: Needs improvement inspections in June
9: Provisional and failed inspections in June
Source: Pima County Health Department
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