Owner attempting bribe among 7 Fresno-area food businesses cited during inspections

A Fresno restaurant owner offered a bribe to a county inspector, according to details in a report from the Fresno County Department of Public Health.

The restaurant, Pho Lau Vieng # 2, had been closed since June 20, due to a “cockroach and rodent infestation.” The bribe was offered during a failed July 7 reinspection — “nothing was specified” and the bribe was declined, according to the report.

The owner was “fully aware” of the illegality of the bribe and told to not do it again, according to the report. The restaurant was allowed to reopen after a follow-up inspection three days later. The Bee attempted to contact the owner of the restaurant, but the owner was not immediately available for comment.

A total of seven food businesses were temporarily closed across Fresno County in July. The closures represented a range of health code violations, according to data from county’s environmental health division, available to the public online.

Little Caesar’s Pizza on Manning Avenue in Parlier was closed for one day due to a lack of hot water at its three-compartment sink. These sinks are used for cleaning and sanitizing dishes in a commercial setting and are required to have water temps of at least 100 degrees.

A lack of hot water is one of the more common (and easily fixed) code violations.

The cafe inside the recently opened Living Spaces Furniture and the prepared-food portion of Save Mart grocery store on First Street each closed due to a lack of hot water at their sinks. Both reopened the following day, according to the health department.

Taqueria Diego, on Tulare Avenue near Cedar, was closed for nearly two weeks while it dealt with a cockroach infestation.

Michoacan Market, a carneceria and taqueria on Van Ness Avenue south of the Tower District, was closed after a July 8 inspection revealed violations including a lack of hot water, vermin activity and a clogged floor drain. It reopened the following day.

Best Market Liquor, on G Street in Biola, was closed for two days after an inspection found a rodent infestation.

What inspectors look for

The Fresno County Department of Public Health has about two dozen environmental health specialists who monitor almost 5,000 restaurants, snack bars, grocery stores, commissaries, delicatessens and food vendors across the county.

They make unannounced visits several times a year.

Restaurants also are inspected following fires, or in response to complaints or other concerns from the public, including when people report what they believe are health or sanitation issues at restaurants.

When inspectors visit a restaurant or other food service business, there is a lengthy and detailed list of more than 50 things that draw their scrutiny. They include: Whether the manager and all employees have the required food safety or food-handling certificates. Hygiene of individual employees. Ways to keep cold food at or below 41 degrees and hot food above 135 degrees. Use of proper sterilization for counters, tables, utensils and cookware. Overall cleanliness. Proper drainage of sinks and floor drains. Restrooms stocked with supplies. Whether the business has the proper license or permit.

Inspectors chronicle their findings in reports.

Those reports are available to the public.

In most instances, if an inspector finds a problem, it’s something that can be fixed on the spot. This can include having enough bleach or sanitizer in the water used to wipe down food-preparation areas, replenishing soap, paper towels and toilet paper in the restrooms, or reminding employees to wash their hands and wear gloves and hairnets.

Serious violations include things like refrigerators that don’t keep food cold enough or steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth, or clogged sinks or drains that cause contaminated water to back up into kitchens.

Insect or vermin infestations are violations that can result in immediate closure of restaurants or food businesses when they are observed by health inspectors. These types of violations closed seven buinesses in June.

As reported in The Fresno Bee, 43 restaurants and food businesses have been temporarily closed (and allowed to reopen) by the health department thus far in 2025.

This version was edited to include that The Bee attempted to contact the restaurant owner connected to the alleged attempted bribe described in the restaurant inspection report.

This story was originally published August 13, 2025 at 5:30 AM.