Grimy kitchens and a messy culinary academy: See SLO County restaurant inspections from May

One local restaurant is facing fines or possible closure, a culinary academy that teaches students about food safety was dinged for violations and several restaurants were ordered to deep clean their facilities because of noticeable grime.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in May 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 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in May 2022.

Lowest-rated restaurants

AJ Spurs, 777 Oak Park Boulevard, Grover Beach

Points lost: 28.5

Notes: The Grover Beach steakhouse lost a whopping 28.5 points during its May inspections — the most of any restaurant that month. A health inspector noted the restaurant had “significant food safety violations and several repeat violations.” Those included employees lacking knowledge of food safety practices; cooked ribs and soups being improperly reheated; no probe thermometers for meats; a mop sink being used to refill the sous vide cooking machine; broken and damaged equipment and an overall need to deep clean the entire facility.

Because of its numerous violations, the restaurant will be reinspected in three months. If those violations are still found, the restaurant could face fines or be closed.

Mei’s Chinese Restaurant, 1759 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach

Points lost: 15.5

Notes: The Shell Beach restaurant had several major violations during its May inspection, including an overall need to keep up with “repairs needed due to structural aging and deterioration.” Other violations included raw eggs being removed from the fridge and kept in the kitchen overnight at room temperature; using sink drain boards as food prep surfaces for vegetables and thawing raw animal food products; old grease build up on the floors and walls and dirty floor sinks. The restaurant was advised to deep clean the facility.

Great American Fish Company, 1185 Embarcadero, Morro Bay

Points lost: 13

Notes: A health inspector noted that the Great American Fish Company in Morro Bay had several repeat violations. Those included using a breading mixture “into which potentially hazardous food is introduced” all day with no temperature control, a dishwasher with no sanitizer, a grimy can opener, expired food safety manager certification, kitchen surfaces “soiled with food debris,” dirty wiping cloths being stored on work surfaces and no health permit on display.

Touch of Paso, 1414 Pine St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 12

Notes: During a routine inspection in May, a health inspector observed employees wiping their hands on cloth towels, a slightly too warm refrigerator, uncovered food in refrigeration units and dirty floors. The restaurant was also told to make sure to regularly clean and sanitize its refrigeration handles due to grease buildup.

Paso Robles Culinary Arts Academy, 1900 Golden Hill Road, Paso Robles

Points lost: 11.5

Notes: The Paso Robles Culinary Arts Academy, which teaches Paso Robles Joint Unified School District students about food service, lost several points during its inspection in May. Those violations included potentially hazardous food left out on the counter of the culinary kitchen, a knife left out on the counter of the culinary kitchen unsanitized and uncovered food containers in a culinary kitchen refrigeration unit, as well as food debris and grime accumulation on stove tops and grime accumulation in floor drains.

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

• Cowboy Cookie N Grub, 174 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach

• Pappy McGregor’s Pub, 1122 Pine St., Paso Robles

• Chevron Station No. 98425, 1284 Grand Ave., Grover Beach

• Twisted & Glazed, 521 Pine St., Paso Robles

• Mutiny Burger, 1104 Pine St., Paso Robles

• Cass Winery, 3785 Geneseo Road, Paso Robles

• Taqueria San Miguel, 5 Santa Rosa St., San Luis Obispo

Highest-rated restaurants

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

San Luis Obispo

• Barb the Baker, Department of Food Services Operation
• California Grazing Boxes, Department of Food Services Operation
• Gypsy Flame, Caterer
• Krobar Craft Distillery, LLC, 10 Higuera St.
• Subway No. 3383, 158 Higuera St. (change of ownership inspection)
• We Olive, 958 Higuera St.
• Wild Bread Co., caterer

North Coast

• Babydudes, 307 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay (change of ownership inspection)
• Madeline’s Restaurant, 6276 Moonstone Beach Drive., Cambria
• Morro Bay Gas, 940 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay
• Old Cayucos Tavern, 130 N. Ocean Ave., Cayucos
• Old Creek Ranch, 12520 Santa Rita Road, Cayucos
• Oliver’s Twist, 4039 Burton Drive, Cambria

South County

• Baja Fresh No. 30574, 929 Rancho Parkway, Arroyo Grande
• Central Coast Casino, 359 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach
• Chipotle Mexican Grill No. 2906, 1229 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande
• CJ’s Restaurant, 611 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande
• Dana Adobe Cultural Center, 671 S. Oakglen Ave., Nipomo
• Halcyon Farms, Inc., 1075 The Pike, Arroyo Grande
• Harford Seafood Company, 3989 Avila Beach Drive, Avila Beach
• Jack in the Box No. 4363, 342 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach
• Klondike Cafe, 104 Bridge St., Arroyo Grande
• Last Chance Liquors, 320 Branch St., Arroyo Grande
• Mule Bakery, 117 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande
• Sodexo Magic, LLC, 3890 Avila Beach Drive, Avila Beach
• Taqueria Guerrero No. 2, 1800 E. Grand Ave., Grover Beach
• The Spoon Trade, 295 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach
• The Victorian Estate, 789 Valley Road, Arroyo Grande
  
  
• Vons No. 1621, 520 W. Tefft St., Nipomo

North County

• Atascadero Gas & Mart, 6280 Morro Road, Atascadero
• Changala Winery, 3770 Willow Creak Road, Paso Robles
• Dollar Tree No. 07073, 1131 Creston Road, Paso Robles
• May’s Farm Stand, 2930 Union Road, Paso Robles
• Jada Vineyard & Winery 5620 Vineyard Drive, Paso Robles
• Negranti Creamery, 2989 Limestone Way St., Paso Robles (change of ownership inspection)
• The Patio Kitchen doing business as Junction, 710 Pine St., Paso Robles
• Subway No. 16152, 2290 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Sundance Bed & Breakfast, 7735 Sundance Trail, Paso Robles

This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 10:00 AM.

Kaytlyn Leslie

The Tribune

805-781-7928 (voicemails only)

Kaytlyn Leslie writes about business and development for The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Hailing from Nipomo, she also covers city governments and happenings in San Luis Obispo. She joined The Tribune in 2013 after graduating from Cal Poly with her journalism degree.