12 Tucson restaurants fail April health inspections

Twelve local restaurants failed Pima County health inspections in April. A central Tucson taqueria failed five consecutive inspections between February and April, but eventually passed.

The Star previously reported that Szechuan Omei had been temporarily closed by the health department in March. After five consecutive failed inspections between February and April, the restaurant received a passing rating on an April 25 inspection.

The Star also reported last week that Five Palms Steak and Seafood failed an April 20 inspection. Its reinspection is scheduled for May 4.

In other news, the health department has changed the terminology of its ratings. What used to be “provisional” ratings are now “probationary status.”

Here’s what you need to know:

Culver’s

3070 S. Campbell Ave.

• History: Since opening in August 2014, the restaurant has received all “excellent” ratings on its three health inspections.
• What the inspector saw: The restaurant received a “probationary” rating during an April 20 inspection, when the inspector observed five critical violations. Soup and gravy were not being held at hot enough temperatures, and a container of pastrami sitting on the counter was above a safe holding temperature. “Several employees observed moving from cleaning tasks to handling food, touching contaminated surfaces, without washing hands and changing gloves,” the report said. In addition, a spray bottle of stainless steel cleaner was being stored above open containers of fish.
• Follow-up: Passed April 29.
• Response: “Our guests should be assured that the infractions in question were corrected at the time of the inspection,” said owner

• Kyle Kolsrud

• , via email. “At Culver’s, we take issues regarding food safety, quality, cleanliness, service and hospitality very seriously and have taken steps to ensure these incidents do not occur again.”

Great Wall of China

2445 S. Craycroft Road

• History: Has received only “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2007.
• What the inspector saw: Six violations were observed during an April 7 inspection, earning the restaurant a “probationary” rating. Violations included employee food and drinks on a prep table in the kitchen, raw chicken and seafood stored above produce, handwashing violations and dishes stored as clean that were “coated in food debris and oil.” The report also mentioned kitchen utensils that had been left out overnight, rinsed and used again, without being washed or sanitized.
• Follow-up: Passed April 19.
• Response: Owner or manager was not available for comment.

Hi-way Chef Restaurant

5451 E. Benson Hwy.

• History: Received only “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2003.
• What the inspector saw: With six critical violations observed during an April 8 inspection, the restaurant received a “probationary” rating. Issues included food stored above or below safe holding temperatures, employee cups on the food service area and missing date markings on prepared food items.
• Follow-up: Passed April 19.
• Response: “We worked with the health department and brought everything up to code,” said owner

• Omar Ramirez.

• “Several of the managers are going to start attending (food safety) classes next week.”

Hogie House

5138 E. Speedway

• History: Restaurant has received only “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2002, until it received a “needs improvement” on April 12.
• What the inspector saw: With one violation still not corrected during an April 13 reinspection for the “needs improvement” rating, the restaurant received a “fail.” A refrigeration unit still wasn’t keeping food below 41 degrees, and the inspector told the owner the lack of refrigeration could be grounds for closure if not repaired.
• Follow-up: Passed April 14.
• Response: “We’ve appealed the April 13 inspection,” said co-owner

• George Raizk

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

• . “The inspector was checking the temperature of the meats on the table, and had the doors (to the refigerator below) open, warming the case up.” One of the items the inspector checked was one degree above the approved temperature, he said. “We don’t feel that was fair, and we expect to have the rating reversed.”

Jasmine

3906 N. Oracle Road

• History: Has received mostly “good” ratings since it opened in 2013, until receiving a “provisional” rating during a March 29 inspection.
• What the inspector saw: With four critical violations during an April 8 reinspection, the restaurant received a “probationary” rating. The inspector saw live and dead cockroaches in the kitchen, and the report mentioned a “meat saw not cleaned since yesterday’s use” with “meat and roaches inside.”
• Follow-up: Failed April 18; passed April 20.
• Response: “The failure is because the department changed the health code and the temperatures were different,” owner

• Saba Alsafar

• told the Star, when contacted earlier in the month. “They said they were posted online, but we didn’t know.”

La Indita Cafe

622 N. 4th Ave.

• History: Failed seven inspections between 2000 and 2010, but has received mostly “good” or “excellent” ratings since.
• What the inspector saw: The restaurant received a “probationary” rating during an April 18 inspection, with five critical violations. “Shelves in walk-in refrigerator are severely rusted and have food debris hanging off of them above uncovered foods,” the report said. Additional violations include missing date markings, raw beef stored above produce and a refrigerator that wasn’t keeping food cool enough. La Indita was closed by the health department until the refrigerator was repaired and able to keep food at a safe temperature.
• Follow-up: Reinspection hasn’t taken place yet.
• Response: No answer at number provided.

La Quinta Inn and Suites-Reid Park

102 N. Alvernon Way

• History: Received mostly “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2008.
• What the inspector saw: With five critical violations noted during an April 12 inspection, the breakfast cafe received a “probationary” rating. An employee told the inspector “that she had diarrhea on the job and has vomited in the food preparation area on separate occasions and was not instructed to go home” by her manager. Additional problems included issues with dishwashing, no date markings on some food items, cleaning supplies on a food prep area and no training was provided to the kitchen’s only employee when she was hired in February.
• Follow-up: Passed April 25.
• Response: Manager was not available for comment.

Las Margaritas

3602 E. Grant Road

• History: Consistently “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2003, but received a “needs improvement” during a March 21 inspection.
• What the inspector saw: Two violations were noted during an April 1 reinspection to the “needs improvement” rating, earning the restaurant a “fail.” A container of shredded beef in the walk-in refrigerator was above safe holding temperature. “The rodent issue is being brought under control,” the inspector wrote. “Need to continue cleaning up feces behind ice machine and various rooms adjacent to the kitchen.”
• Follow-up: Passed April 12.
• Response: No answer at number provided.

Lodge on the Desert

306 N. Alvernon Way

• History: Has received only “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2004.
• What the inspector saw: With eight violations noted during an April 20 inspection, the restaurant received a “probationary” rating. The inspector found food that was stored above safe temperature, handwashing violations, no soap in the dispensers on the cooking line, dirty utensils and food stored past expiration date. “Cook was observed dipping hands in wash basin of three-compartment sink containing ... dirty dishes, and then rinsing hands in hand sink” because of the lack of soap.
• Follow-up: Reinspection hasn’t taken place yet.
• Response: Lodge provided the following statement via email: “The Lodge On The Desert has taken the food safety and evaluation findings and recommendations seriously. We have addressed the critical violations and we will continue to work with the Pima County Health Department to make sure we receive the good and excellent evaluations we have received in the past.”

Taqueria Juanito’s

708 W. Grant Road

• History: Received “provisional” and “fail” ratings during four consecutive inspections in February and March.
• What the inspector saw: During an April 8 inspection, the restaurant received a “probationary” rating. One of the continuous violations during the February and March inspections was a lack of functioning hand sink in the restaurant’s kitchen. Although a hand sink had been installed by the April 8 inspection, the hot water wasn’t working.
• Follow-up: Passed April 11.
• Response: No answer at number provided.