Rodents, roaches, plumbing problems: Restaurant closures, inspections in Riverside County, Aug. 7-13

Here are the restaurants and other food facilities that Riverside County Department of Environmental Health inspectors temporarily shut down because of imminent health hazards between Aug. 7 and 13, 2020, plus one from earlier this month that was not previously reported. If no reopening date is mentioned, the department had not listed that facility as reopened as of this publication.

Alamilla’s Mexican Food, 841 N. Main St., Corona

• Closure date: Aug. 13
• Grade: Not graded
• Reason for closure: Inability to properly warewash. There was a major leak at the sink where utensils and equipment are washed.
• Reopening date: Later that day

George’s Drive In, 9910 Magnolia Ave., Riverside

• Closure date: Aug. 12
• Grade: Not graded
• Reason for closure: Fire damage. According to a Facebook post from the restaurant, there was a small early-morning fire at the grill’s grease trap. The health inspector told the restaurant to stay closed until affected areas are cleaned, any damaged equipment is repaired or replaced and the gas company says the gas lines are in good repair.

Kabob Grill House, 165 Washburn Circle, Corona

• Closure date: Aug. 10
• Grade: 80/B, failing
• Reason for closure: Cockroach infestation. The inspector found roaches “too numerous to count” in the warewashing and storage areas. There was one other critical violation, for employees not washing hands properly. Additionally, dishes weren’t being washed correctly, the ice machine had mold growth and mineral buildup, and other equipment and shelving was not in good condition.

Snow & Crab, 186 S. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs

• Closure date: Aug. 10
• Grade: 80/B, failing
• Reason for closure: Rodent infestation. When the inspector arrived, the kitchen floor and restroom were flooded with water from a blocked floor drain; an employee fixed the problem. The inspector then found rodent droppings in the dry storage area and but couldn’t tell if they were old or fresh “due to the excessive buildup of flooded water, grease and food debris throughout the facility.” There was one other critical violation, for contaminated food: moldy carrots, a bag of raw lobster leaking into a container of cooked crab legs, a bag of raw chicken leaking into a container of raw seafood, and rice from the previous day that had been left in the rice cooker and was being reheated for use. Additionally, there was a large container of sauce on the floor that an employee said would stay there throughout the day, the ice machine had “excessive mold buildup,” dirty dishes were piled on the floor and in a sink and weren’t being washed properly, raw meat juices had built up in the freezer and there was not adequate air conditioning in the kitchen.

Waba Grill Indio, 42250 Jackson St. Suite C101, Indio

• Closure date: Aug. 10
• Grade: 91/A, passing
• Reason for closure: No hot water. The graded inspection was stopped when the issue was discovered, then resumed after hot water was restored. The person in charge said the hot water had been out for days; they weren’t sure how many. All food preparation was stopped and cooked food was thrown out. The inspector said staff started cooking again before the restaurant was permitted to reopen, and that food also had to be discarded.
• Reopening date: Later that day

Starbucks, 42250 Jackson St. Suite 101A, Indio

• Closure date: Aug. 10
• Grade: 92/A, passing
• Reason for closure: No hot water. The graded inspection was stopped when the issue was discovered, then resumed after hot water was restored.
• Reopening date: Later that day

Arco am/pm, 46150 Washington St., La Quinta

• Closure date: Aug. 7
• Grade: 94/A, passing
• Reason for closure: Sewage backup. A floor sink was overflowing. The report noted that the grease interceptor needs to be serviced frequently to prevent sewage backups.
• Reopening date: Later that day

Del Taco, 401 E. Alessandro Blvd., Riverside

• Closure date: Aug. 4
• Grade: Not graded
• Reason for closure: Plumbing backup. The inspector visited in response to a complaint and confirmed that the floor drains in the kitchen were overflowing.
• Reopening date: Later that day

Non-closure inspections of note

Here are selected inspections at facilities that weren’t closed but had other significant issues.

Taco’s Elsinore, at 16331 Lakeshore Drive Suite H in Lake Elsinore, was inspected Aug. 13 and received a failing grade of 81/B with one critical violation. Food stacked up in containers in the walk-in cooler since the day before was at unsafe temperatures; more than 30 pounds of meat, rice and beans and 2.5 gallons of salsa had to be discarded. Among the 11 lesser violations, frozen chicken had been left out overnight to thaw, cooked meat was left out to cool, there were flies inside and the ice machine had mold growth.

El Tranvia, at 1221 6th St. in Coachella, was inspected Aug. 11 and received a failing grade of 85/B. Among the 12 violations — none of which were marked as critical — all of the food in the flip-top refrigerator was at unsafe temperatures; the unit was impounded. Also, the air conditioner wasn’t working in the kitchen and employees were sweating, and the floors, ceiling tiles, walls and equipment needed cleaning.

About this list

This list is published online on Fridays. Any updates as restaurants are reopened will be included in next week’s list.

All food facilities in the county are routinely inspected to ensure they meet health codes. A facility loses four points for each critical violation — and may have to close if the violation can’t be corrected immediately — and one or two points for minor violations. An A grade (90 to 100 points) is passing. Grades of B (80 to 89 points) and C (79 or below) are failing and typically require the proprietor to make improvements and be re-inspected.

For more information on inspections of these or any restaurants in Riverside County, visit restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org. To submit a health complaint about a restaurant, go to www.rivcoeh.org/Complaint or call 888-722-4234 during business hours or 951-782-2968 after-hours.