LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles County health inspectors temporarily closed dozens of restaurants and markets in October after finding health code violations, most often vermin infestations, according to county closure records.
The closures began Oct. 1 and continued through the month. The violations ranged from rodents and bugs to sewage discharge, the lack of a method to clean and sanitize, unsafe food temperatures and missing toilet facilities.
The county Department of Public Health’s Environmental Health Division inspects retail food facilities and orders them closed when violations meet its criteria. Closure and reopening dates are listed on the Environmental Health Public Portal’s Facility Closure List, which sits alongside the portal’s public inspection results.
According to initial reports, about 57 establishments were listed as closed between Oct. 1 and Oct. 23. Many reopened within days, while others were still closed as of Oct. 26.
Vermin cited in most closures
Most of the closures involved vermin infestation. The businesses on the list include restaurants, cafes, hotels and neighborhood markets in cities across the county.
In Los Angeles, Mom’s Donuts & Chinese Food on Silver Lake Boulevard closed Oct. 8 and reopened Oct. 14 over vermin. New York Nook on West Sunset Boulevard closed Oct. 1 and reopened Oct. 5 for the same reason.
Two businesses on Kings Road and Beverly Boulevard, Kings Rd Cafe Warehouse and Kings Road Bar/Cafe Inc, closed Oct. 6 for vermin and reopened Oct. 21.
In West Hollywood, Doheny Room on Santa Monica Boulevard closed Oct. 8 and reopened Oct. 20 over vermin. Jinpachi, also on Santa Monica Boulevard, closed Oct. 6 and reopened Oct. 9.
Sewage and sanitation violations
Not every closure involved pests. In Northridge, Five Guys on Tampa Avenue closed Oct. 12 for a sewage discharge and reopened Oct. 13 after the problem was repaired.
Q & Q Hawaiian BBQ, at the same Tampa Avenue address, closed Oct. 12 for vermin and sewage and reopened Oct. 15. Black Angus Steakhouse on Corbin Avenue in Northridge closed Oct. 13 for vermin and reopened Oct. 15.
Bread Head in Manhattan Beach closed Oct. 2 for having no method to clean and sanitize, and reopened Oct. 8. In Hollywood, Obet & Del’s Coffee Shop on Hollywood Boulevard closed Oct. 15 for the same violation.
In Burbank, the Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel on North Hollywood Way closed Oct. 22 for a sewage discharge violation.
Businesses still closed on Oct. 26
As of Oct. 26, a number of businesses had not reopened, according to initial reports. Grace Cafe on West 3rd Street in Los Angeles closed Oct. 23 for vermin infestation, and M G Meat Market on Maplewood Avenue in Los Angeles closed Oct. 21 for the same reason.
Coucou on Main Street in Venice closed Oct. 21 for vermin infestation. In Huntington Park, Ariya Thai Kitchen on East Gage Avenue closed Oct. 21 for vermin.
Arzate Cafe on Lomita Boulevard in Torrance closed Oct. 21 for vermin and a low inspection score. Sam Woo Restaurant in Alhambra closed Oct. 14 for vermin, and Johnny’s Pilipino Restaurant in Bellflower closed Oct. 13 for the same reason.
Louis’s Hawaiian BBQ on East Foothill Boulevard in Azusa closed Oct. 16 for food contamination, vermin, no method to clean and sanitize, and disease transmission.
Many reopened within days
Such closures are fairly common, and most businesses reopen within days of fixing the problem. Several October closures followed that pattern.
Denny’s on West Alameda Avenue in Burbank closed Oct. 6 and reopened Oct. 10 over vermin. B&R’s Old Fashion Burgers in Hawthorne closed Oct. 5 and reopened Oct. 8 after vermin was removed.
Golden Panda Buffet in Baldwin Park closed Oct. 16 and reopened Oct. 19 over vermin. Pho99 Noodle Soup in El Monte closed Oct. 14 for vermin, a low score and no sanitization method, and reopened Oct. 16.
Some took longer. Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream in Downey closed Oct. 2 and reopened Oct. 13, and Duck House in Monterey Park closed Oct. 6 and reopened Oct. 14, both over vermin.
How the county decides on a closure
Under the county’s grading and posting requirements, “All food facilities that have a critical violation may be subject to closure regardless of the score received on the inspection report.”
The same page says facilities that score below 70 percent twice within 12 months are subject to closure and further legal action. Grades are based on points: an A is 90 to 100, a B is 80 to 89 and a C is 70 to 79, while 0 to 69 points gets a score card instead of a letter grade.
The county’s restaurant and retail food inspection page states that “A Major Critical Risk Factor that is not corrected by the end of the inspection shall result in suspension of the Public Health Permit/License.” For major violations, the inspector schedules a reinspection within 14 days to determine ongoing compliance.
Weekly reports go to county health deputies
The Department of Public Health also sends the Board of Supervisors’ health deputies a weekly report on retail food facility closures and reopenings. One edition covers Sept. 13-19 and was published Sept. 23.
Earlier editions, such as the one for June 21-27, list each closed and reopened facility with a brief reason for the closure.
Closure dates remain on the county list
Residents can review inspection results and closure and reopening dates for any food facility through the county’s public portal. For the businesses that had not reopened as of Oct. 26, a permit suspension continues until the county’s reinspection process is completed.
