SLO restaurants cited for rodent droppings and roaches. See February’s inspection results

One restaurant had rodent droppings on a bag of rice, another had cockroaches on the wheels of its equipment and another continued to struggle with a vermin infestation through multiple inspections.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in February during dozens 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 244 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in February.

2 restaurants closed due to health code violations

Two San Luis Obispo County restaurants were briefly closed due to violations found during their inspections in February.

Sushiya in San Luis Obispo was temporarily ordered to close Feb. 20 after an inspector observed no hot water at the facility and evidence of rodents.

According to inspection notes, the inspector saw evidence of rodent activity “in multiple critical areas including contamination of clean tableware and contamination of food preparation surfaces.” The inspector also found a 50-pound bag of rice with multiple rodent droppings on it and a chew hole through the bag.

The restaurant was told to move all food in the dry storage area into chew-resistant plastic containers.

Hot water at the facility was also recorded at 90 degrees, well below the required 120-degree minimum.

Sushiya was allowed to reopen the next day once it proved the facility had been cleaned and sanitized and pest control was on site.

Meanwhile, Me-N-Ed’s on Tap in Nipomo was closed Feb. 27 after an inspector found “intermittent hot (120 degrees) and warm (100-104) water issues at all sinks.”

The restaurant was allowed to open the next day after the issues were resolved.

Lowest-rated restaurants

Breakfast Buzz, 295 Santa Rosa St., San Luis Obispo

Points lost: 27.5

Notes: During its routine inspection in February, Breakfast Buzz was ordered to be reinspected after several violations were found at the popular San Luis Obispo breakfast spot. According to inspection notes, no employee could demonstrate knowledge of “proper manual warewashing” during the visit, with one employee observed not sanitizing dishes while washing them. The inspector also noted that cooked chorizo, sausage, sliced breakfast links and poached eggs were all being kept without temperature control. The restaurant was also found to have “live cockroaches in various stages of the life cycle” on the wheels of the hot line equipment. The restaurant was ordered to bring in pest control, seal all cracks and crevices in the facility, remove sources of food and water and clean and sanitize all affected areas.

Pizza Express, 3348 Spring St., Paso Robles

Points lost: 25

Notes: Pizza Express in Paso Robles had “numerous major violations that could potentially cause food borne illness diseases” due to a “lack of understanding of basic food safety principles” during February’s inspection. The inspector observed an employee not washing her hands before putting on gloves, a jar of garlic and herb spread sitting on a counter for over a day, no sanitizer solution set up during active food prep and food build-up on the refrigerator handles.

New Earth Health Cafe, 191 S. Oak Park Blvd., Grover Beach

Points lost: 23

Notes: New Earth Health Cafe in Grover Beach lost a number of points during its routine February inspection for repeat violations. Those included not being able to verify food safety certifications for workers, degraded concrete flooring and a propped-open front door. The facility also had a refrigerator that was measuring outside of safe temperatures and the water and a hand-washing sink turned off, according to inspection notes.

Sushi Kokku, 285 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo

Points lost: 18

Notes: During its routine inspection in February, the San Luis Obispo sushi restaurant lost points because “no person onsite could demonstrate knowledge of proper warewashing.” It also lost points when an inspector recorded the temperature of food in the facility’s cool-top unit, finding the yellow tail, tuna, albacore and shrimp all above the recommended cooled temperature, according to inspection notes. The inspector also found evidence of rodent activity in the facility’s dry storage and “evidence of deferred cleaning.”

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

• Capriotti’s, 791 E. Foothill Blvd., San Luis Obispo

• Laguna BBQ & Brewery, 11560 Los Osos Valley Road, San Luis Obispo

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

• Cafe Andreini, 131 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande

• China Gourmet, 153 Niblick Road, Paso Robles

• Dutchman’s Landing, 701 Embarcadero, Morro Bay

• Los Berros Market Deli, 2021 Los Berros Road, Arroyo Grande

• Munchiez 805, 2796 S. Halcyon Road, Arroyo Grande

• Amsterdam Cafe, 1519 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach

• Madonna Inn, 100 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo

• Morro Grill, 1215 Embarcadero, Morro Bay

• @ Bites, 195 N. Santa Rosa St., San Luis Obispo

• Bamboo Bamboo, 810 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay

Highest-rated restaurants

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

San Luis Obispo

• Back Porch Bakery, 3536 Higuera St. #210
• Buffalo Wild Wings, 309 Madonna Rd.
• Buona Tavola SLO Inc., 1037 Monterey St.
• CJ’s BBQ Smokehouse, 1005 Monterey St.

• Classic Gourmet Shop, 100 Madonna Road

• Clean Machine Kitchen, 570 Higuera St. Ste 180/185
• Coastal Peaks Roasters, 3566 South Higuera St. 100
• Danior Enterprises, 4211 Broad St.
• Dave’s Hot Chicken, 299 B Madonna Road
• Efren’s Mexican Restaurant, 892 Marsh St.
• Five Guys Burgers and Fries, 763 East Foothill Blvd.
• Gold Land BBQ, 570 Higuera St. Ste 135
• Healing Harvest, 4211 Broad St.
• Hungry Mother, 1255 Monterey St. Ste B
• Insomnia Cookies, 22 Chorro St. Ste 101
• Jan’s Place, 1817 Osos St.
• John’s Valero, 157 Higuera St.
• Kikka Sushi @ El Rancho Market San Luis Obispo, 771 West Foothill Blvd.
• Las Brisas, 1299 Briarwood Drive
• LXV Wine Live Area LLC, 1306 Pine St. Ste B
• Mama Ganache Artisan Chocolates, 1445 Monterey St.
• McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams, 868 Monterey St.
• Mission View Health Center, 1425 Woodside Drive
• Monika’s Macarons, 17 Chorro Ste A
• My Thai Restaurant, 1815 Osos St.
• Nautical Bean #2 Kitchen, 11560 Los Osos Valley Road #220
• Ox and Anchor @ Hotel San Luis Obispo, 877 Palm St.
• Panda Express #861, 789 Foothill Blvd.
• Rocket Fizz San Luis Obispo, 699 Higuera St.
• San Luis Obispo Fast Fill Market, 2000 Monterey St.
• Sequel Tea, 3845 South Higuera Ste 100
• Sierra Vista - Kitchen, 1010 Murray St.
• Smart & Final #913, 1321 Johnson Ave.
• Star MSO Inc. 68614, 3 Santa Rosa St.
• Starbucks Coffee #5933, 501 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach
• Subway, 158 Higuera St. Ste D
• The Flour House, 690 Higuera St.
• Touch by Angels, 1211 Marsh St.

North Coast

• Bear Elements Spice Company, 1236 Los Osos Valley Road Ste A, Los Osos
• Infused Thai Fusion Kitchen, 410-420 Quintana Road, Morro Bay
• Mojo Froyo, 801 B Main St., Cambria
• Oceanpoint Ranch, 7200 Moonstone Beach Drive, Cambria
• Red Moose Cookie Company, 2531 Village Lane Unit C & D, Cambria

South County

• Arroyo Grande Liquor & Market, 821 East Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande
• Best Western Casa Grande Inn, 850 Oak Park Blvd., Arroyo Grande
• Cowboy Cookie N Grub, 174 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach
• Harry’s Night Club & Beach Bar, 690 Cypress St., Pismo Beach
• Pismo Lighthouse Suites, 2411 Price St., Pismo Beach
• Shore Cliff Hotel, 2555 Price St., Pismo Beach

North County

• Appy’s Liquor, 2816 Spring St., Paso Robles
• Atascadero Elks BPOE #2733, 1516 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Azita’s Bakery, 6005 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Carl’s Jr, 2725 Black Oak Drive, Paso Robles
• Chef Candice LLC, 8550 El Camino Real #C, Atascadero
• Cowboy Pizza, 105 South Main St. Ste 10, Templeton
• Dollar Tree #03631, 2040 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Eberle Winery Ltd, 3810 Highway 46 East, Paso Robles
• I Love to Cater, 8550 El Camino Real #C, Atascadero
• McDonald’s #26241, 2715 Black Oak Drive, Paso Robles
• Off the 46 Mexican Bar and Grill, 2425 Golden Hill Road, Paso Robles
• Park Cinemas, 1100 Pine St., Paso Robles
• Phil’s Catering Service, 8550 El Camino Real #C, Atascadero
• Pizza Planet, 717 6th St., Paso Robles
• Round Table Pizza c/o D&R Management & Operations Inc., 6915 El Camino Real, Atascadero
• Slo Meltdown, 6907 El Camino Real Unit C, Atascadero
• South Paso Chevron, 1849 Ramada Drive, Paso Robles
• Starbucks Coffee #2904, 2301 Theatre Drive, Paso Robles
• Starbucks Coffee #8909, 1205 24th St., Paso Robles
• Summerwood Winery, 2175 Arbor Road, Paso Robles
• The Summerwood Inn, 2130 Arbor Road, Paso Robles
• Templeton Spirits, 575 Southeast Main, Templeton

This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM.