Health violations closed more Fresno area restaurants in December. Who’s on the list?
Four restaurants across Fresno County – three in Fresno, one in Coalinga – were closed by county inspectors during the month of December for health violations.
One of the restaurants, El Toro Tortilleria & Deli on East Tulare Avenue in southeast Fresno, had a structure fire on Dec. 13 and will remain closed until the owners can get it ready to reopen. The others were shut down by inspectors for the Fresno County Department of Public Health for violations such as a lack of hot water, broken equipment in the kitchen and rain contamination and were closed for periods ranging from a few hours to a few days.
The December closures brought to 28 the total number of restaurant shutdowns ordered by inspectors during 2019. That’s less than half as many as 2018, when a total of 61 closure orders were issued by inspectors across Fresno County.
In most instances last year, the problems were a faulty water heater or problems with refrigerators not keeping cold food cold enough. But in others, infestations of cockroaches and other pests prompted county inspectors to close a place.
The lobby of the Arby’s restaurant on Ashlan Avenue near Cedar Avenue was closed for about a week after an inspector, responding to a complaint, found that rain was contaminating the dining area and discovered other structural issues. The inspection happened on Dec. 4, and the facility was reopened Dec. 11.
In northeast Fresno, on Nees Avenue near First Street, the McDonald’s restaurant was found to be lacking hot water – a requirement for employee hand-washing and sanitizing cooking equipment. A county inspector issued a closure order during the Dec. 16 inspection, and the restaurant was allowed to reopen later that day after solving the water issue.
In Coalinga, Tacos Y Mariscos Sergio failed its Dec. 30 inspection and was closed because the range hood in the kitchen wasn’t working. The inspector allowed the restaurant to reopen on Jan. 2 after the owner provided a written receipt for repairs to the hood.
Inspectors for Fresno County’s Environmental Health Division – which oversees restaurant and food safety inspections – typically make routine, unannounced visits to restaurants or other food facilities four times a year. And if customers are concerned by conditions they see in a restaurant and report a complaint, inspectors will respond to those reports, as well.
Usually, when inspectors find something amiss, it’s something that can be fixed immediately – for example, reminding employees to wear gloves or hairnets or to wash their hands, adding some bleach to the solution used to wipe down counters and tables, covering up food containers in the walk-in refrigerator, or resupplying paper towels or toilet paper in the restrooms.
But if an issue represents an immediate threat to public health and it cannot be fixed on the spot, inspectors can order a restaurant closed for however long it takes to fix it.
Fresno County posts its inspection records online at fresnohealthinspections.com.
Health officials have said they believe one reason for the lower number of closures for violations last year is The Bee’s monthly stories on restaurant inspections and closures. The stories, they said, likely help generate improved compliance as restaurant owners and managers seek to not have their facilities seen as failing a health inspection.
The Bee’s stories report the name and location of restaurants closed each month and the circumstances of the violations for which they were closed.
