What was found in 203 SLO County restaurant inspections? Dirty knives, ‘lack of motivation’

One restaurant had dirty knives and tortillas under exposed pipes, two had broken dishwashers and another was cited for “a lack of motivation” at preventing cross-contamination.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in March 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 203 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in March.

Lowest-rated restaurants

Umi Sushi & Sake, 1108 Pine St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 23

Notes: During its routine inspection in March, the Paso Robles sushi restaurant lost points for a number of health code violations observed by an inspector. According to the inspection notes, the inspector saw employee beverages without lids in the food prep areas, employees using a hand wash sink to clean wiping cloths and a water handle that could not turn on the hot water at a kitchen sink. The restaurant also lost a large chunk of points for repeat violations, including a blocked hand-washing sink, no washing supplies available at the hand-washing sink and sushi rice testing at above the recommended PH (a marker that could indicate fermented or spoiled food), according to the inspection notes. Umi Sushi was also reminded to store food handler cards on site so they are available upon request.

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

Points lost: 21

Notes: According to an inspector, the Mexican food restaurant in San Luis Obispo was in need of “significant improvement” in “facility monitoring and maintenance, as well as employee practices and habits” following its routine inspection in March. The inspector noted there was “inadequate involvement of owners/managers” to ensure the restaurant was operating safely and employees were correctly trained. Among the issues were staff needing more training on “the importance of clean and sanitized food contact surfaces” even in spite of what the inspector called “a lack of motivation to monitor and correct issues of potential cross-contamination.” The inspector also observed the dishwasher not dispensing sanitizer and confusion or ambivalence on the part of employees on how to fix it. Meanwhile the sanitizer solution being kept in the kitchen’s three-compartment sink was noticeably cloudy and “had a large amount of food scraps floating in the solution,” according to inspection notes. Other violations included knives put away still soiled with food residue, the salsa bar left uncovered, tortillas stored under exposed ceiling pipes where the facility’s ceiling was unfinished and a downstairs storage area that was “disorganized and cluttered, which makes it difficult to monitor for pests.” The restaurant was ordered to “promptly and permanently correct all noted violations” ahead of a reinspection later in the month. The inspector warned that if improvement wasn’t observed, the restaurant would be charged for subsequent inspections at a rate of $147 per hour.

Crumbl Paso Robles, 2307 Theatre Drive, Paso Robles

Points lost: 16.5

Notes: The Crumbl cookie shop in Paso Robles had comparatively few violations during its routine March health inspection — but it lost a large number of points due to several repeat violations. Those included an empty paper towel dispenser at a hand-washing sink in the front of the facility, a toilet paper roll being kept outside of the dispenser and a copy of the restaurant’s recent Health Inspection Report not being available on site. The cookie shop also lost points for a broken sanitizer dispenser in its three-compartment sink.

Agrarian Hotel, 325 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

Points lost: 15

Notes: During its March inspection, the Arroyo Grande Village hotel lost points for violations that included workers using a restroom hand-washing sink rather than the one in the kitchen, no pump soap or paper towels at that kitchen hand-washing sink, a broken dishwasher not dispensing sanitizer and an uncovered container of sugar being kept on a dry storage shelf. The hotel also lost points because there was no employee on site with a valid food manager safety certification. Both the broken dishwasher and the lack of a food manager certificate were repeat violations, according to inspection notes.

Hotlix Inc., 179 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach

Points lost: 14

Notes: The popular Pismo Beach candy store had a number of health code violations during its routine inspection in March. According to the inspection notes, the shop was keeping open-top syrups for its coffee bar underneath the hand-washing sink’s paper towel dispenser, which could potentially contaminate the syrups. It also needed to install a splash guard on the side of the hand-washing sink near the coffee station to prevent cross-contamination, the inspector said. Other violations included a too-warm fridge, slight mildew growth in the ice machine, a “very dirty floor sink” near the ice machine and clothing merchandise being kept in the employee restroom.

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

• Village Cafe, 112 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

• Las Kalaveras, 1218 Pine St., Paso Robles

• Papi’s Grill, 1090 Price St., Pismo Beach

• Panera Bread Bakery Cafe, 1390 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

• LOL Yogurt, 6520 El Camino Real, Atascadero

• Hampton Inn & Suites, 1400 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

• Pismo Yogurt, 187 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach

• La Cosecha, 835 12th St., Paso Robles

• Taqueria Jalisco, 1912 Creston Road, Paso Robles

Highest-rated restaurants

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

San Luis Obispo

• Classic Gourmet Shop, 100 Madonna Road

• Ike’s Love and Sandwiches, 1028 Chorro St.

• Lahaina’s, 3975 S. Higuera St.

• Madonna Inn Expo, 120 Madonna Road

• Nautical Bean, 810 Orcutt Road

• Rocket Fizz, 699 Higuera St.

• Round Table Pizza, 2256 Broad St.

• Taco Rico, 3975 S. Higuera St.

North Coast

• Cayucos Candy Counter, 75 Cayucos Drive, Cayucos

• Fermentations, 2306 Main St., Cambria

• Fog Catcher Inn, 6400 Moonstone Beach Drive, Cambria

• Rhapsody in View Boutique Hotel, 2790 Main St., Morro Bay

South County

• Carl’s Jr., 1590 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

• Grocery Outlet Arroyo Grande, 1574 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

• Arroyo Grande Home & Garden, 1578 W. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

• Treats & Gifts by the Beach, 231 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach

North County

• A.J. Coffee, 7600 El Camino Real, Atascadero (change of ownership inspection)

• Buona Tavola Paso, 943 Spring St., Paso Robles

• Gather Natural Market, 4825 El Camino Real, Atascadero

• La Miramar, 500 Spring St., Paso Robles

• Mr. C’s Catering & Kitchen Rentals, 8550 El Camino Real, Atascadero