Dead cockroaches at a school snack bar? See results of SLO County restaurant inspections

One high school snack bar had dead cockroaches, two restaurants had broken fridges and several eateries had issues with their sinks.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in April during hundreds of surprise visits to eating and drinking establishments.

Many food and beverage sellers passed with flying colors, while others needed to make serious improvements.

Every month, The Tribune prints the lowest- and highest-ranked eateries to give diners more information about the places where they buy food and drinks.

Inspectors visit restaurants, bars, coffee shops, grocery stores, mini-marts and more on a monthly basis. They score eateries on a 100-point scale and make deductions based on the severity of the violations they find.

To check out the safety and cleanliness of your favorite restaurants around the county, visit www.EatSafeSLO.org and use the interactive map to view full inspection reports.

Here are the highs and lows of the 278 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in April.

Lowest-rated restaurants

Nipomo High School Booster Club Concessions, 525 N. Thompson Ave., Nipomo

Points lost: 18

Notes: The off season doesn’t exempt the concession stands at San Luis Obispo County high schools from their own health inspections. In a routine inspection in April, Nipomo High School’s concession stand at the football stadium was found to have a number of violations though it was currently not in use. Most notably, a health inspector found “a few dead cockroaches” in the stand’s dry storage room. The Booster Club was told to eliminate all evidence of vermin “by safe, legal and effective means at once.” Meanwhile, the inspector noted there were no paper towels at the hand-washing station, build-up and grime on the ice chute, a broken refrigerator thermometer and no posted health permit. The Booster Club was told to fix all violations before its next event using the stand.

Kelleco To Go, 1255 Las Tablas Road, Templeton

Points lost: 16

Notes: During its routine inspection in April, the grab-and-go eatery in Templeton lost a number of points for health code violations. Those included a broken too-warm refrigerator and a hand-washing sink that was shut off due to a leak, as well as baked goods on the counters without lids or coverings to prevent cross-contamination. It also lost points for not having enough sanitizer in its cleaning solution, a barbecue smoker that wasn’t blocked off from the public and use of an unapproved hood system. Inspectors ordered the eatery to fix all its violations ahead of a reinspection later in the month. During the second inspection, the inspector noted that the restaurant was still using the unapproved hood system and a refrigerator was also still not cooling enough, among other repeat violations.

Arroyo Grande High School Booster’s Concessions, 495 Valley Road, Arroyo Grande

Points lost: 13

Notes: Arroyo Grande was the second high school booster club concession stand to lose a significant number of points during its routine inspection last month. According to inspection notes, the stand lost points for several repeat violations, including grime build-up in the ice chute, using incorrect equipment for testing cleaning solutions and free-standing CO2 tanks stored next to soda boxes without proper support. The inspector also noted there was build-up of grime in a floor sink underneath the facility’s three-compartment sink.

Tito’s Red Tacos, 690 Dolliver St., Pismo Beach

Points lost: 12

Notes: Tito’s Red Tacos in Pismo Beach was ordered to be reinspected later in the month after its initial inspection revealed several health code violations in need of immediate remedy. According to inspection notes, an employee was observed improperly using a hot holding unit to heat up foods rather than cooking them to the correct temperature and then placing in the unit to keep it warm. The inspector also observed no soap at a hand-washing station near the front counter, a water pitcher inside a hand-washing sink in the back prep room, an unapproved plastic splash guard installed along a hand-washing sink, no sanitizer buckets set up in the kitchen and mildew on the panel inside the ice machine. The restaurant was also told to stop propping open the front door as that could allow vermin entry into the facility.

These businesses also lost 10 or more points due to violations.

• Jersey Mike’s, 1540 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande

• Rock ’N’ Robles Grill and Pizza Kitchen, 2140 Heritage Loop Road, Paso Robles

Highest-rated restaurants

These stores and restaurants received scores of 100, with few to no violations.

San Luis Obispo

• Bear and the Wren, 570 Higuera St. #2

• Bravo Pizza Plus, 3971 S Higuera St. #120

• Brick and Mortar Catering/SLO Budget Catering, 3563 Sueldo St. Suite H

• Central Coast Wines, 712 Higuera St.

• Club Bubbly, 570 Higuera St. Suite 145

• Garden Street Inn, 1212 Garden St.

• The Habit Burger Grill, 839 Higuera St.

• High Street Market & Deli, 350 High St.

• Lokum Turkish Delights & Baklava, 715 Higuera St.

• The Mercantile, 950 Chorro St.

• Mission Station, 328 Marsh St.

• Petit Soleil, 1473 Monterey St.

• San Luis Obispo Grange #639, 2880 Broad St.

• San Luis Oriental Market, 1255 Monterey St. Suite C

• San Luis Taqueria, 1032 Chorro St., San Luis Obispo

• Seabreeze Cupcakes & Sweet Treats, 570 Higuera St. Suite 135

• Sheila Kearns Chocolate and Confections, 722 Marsh St.

• Taco Bell #24286, 3810 Broad St., Suite 1

North Coast

• Camp Yeager, 525 Ashby Lane, Cambria

• Castle Inn by the Sea, 6620 Moonstone Beach Drive, Cambria

• Joslyn Adult Recreation Cetner, 950 main St., Cambria

• Keep Ocean, 3350 Pecho Road, Los Osos

• Los Osos Liquor, 2004 10th St., Los Osos

• Madeline’s Restaurant, 6276 Moonstone Beach Drive, Cambria

• Mushrooms on Main, 704 and 950 Main St., Cambria

• Red Moose Cookie Company, 784 Main St. and 2531 Village Lane Unit C & D, Cambria
  
  

• Sinclair, 940 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay

South County

• Cottage Inn by the Sea, 2351 Price St., Pismo Beach

• In-N-Out Burger #250, 1170 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

• McDonald’s #26252, 350 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach

• Starbucks Coffee #5933, 501 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach

North County

• A-Town Diner, 7305 El Camino Real, Atascadero

• Atascadero Gas & Mart, 6280 Morro Road, Atascadero

• Carbon 6, 5940 El Camino Real, Atascadero

• Carl’s Jr, 2725 Black Oak Drive, Paso Robles

• Carndonagh Kitchen, 8550 El Camino Real #C, Atascadero

• Chef Candice LLC, 8550 El Camino Real #C, Atascadero

• Danish Care Center, 10805 El Camino Real, Atascadero

• The Habit Burger Grill, 7340 El Camino Real, Atascadero

• I Love to Cater, 8550 El Camino Real #C, Atascadero

• The Inn at Opolo Kitchen, 6970 Vineyard Drive, Paso Robles

• J&R Natural Meats, 3450 Riverside Ave., Paso Robles

• J Dusi Inc., 1401 Highway 46, Paso Robles

• Kenneth J. Franklin, Food Service, 8550 El Camino Real #C, Atascadero

• Merry Hill Coffee & Teas, 1121 Rossi Road, Templeton

• Monterey Lakes Recreation Company, 10625 Naciemiento Lake Drive, Bradley

• Negranti Creamery, 6090 El Cmaino Real, Atascadero

• Papi’s 1 Authentic Mexican Food, 5625 El Camino Real, Atascadero

• Paso Robles Golf Club, 1600 Country Club Drive, Paso Robles

• The Pour House, 525 Pine St. Suite A, Paso Robles

• Pizza Planet, 717 6th St., Paso Robles

• Refuge Church, 6955 Portola Road, Atascadero

• Shale Oak Winery, 3235 Oakdale Road, Paso Robles

• Summerwood Winery, 2174 Arbor Road, Paso Robles

• Taste in the Alley, 1211 Pine St. Suite B, Paso Robles

• Trattoria Di Luca LLC, 8550 El Camino Real #C, Atascadero