Food debris, dirty can opener and broken fridge: See latest SLO County restaurant inspections
One local restaurant wasn’t able to prove its workers had food safety training in the past five years.
Another had a storage room so cluttered with a broken fridge and shopping carts that an inspector couldn’t check out part of the building.
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 168 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in May.
Lowest-rated restaurants
Smart & Final No. 358, 1464 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande
Points lost: 17
Notes: Restaurants are not the only food-selling businesses subject to surprise health inspections. During its routine inspection in May, Smart & Final lost a whopping 17 points, mostly due to repeat offenses. That included an egg refrigeration unit that was registering at 50 degrees, well above the maximum of 41 degrees. There was also food debris buildup in the milk walk-in refrigerator, broken walls in the meat kitchen and debris or dust on the ceiling of the produce walk-in refrigerator. The Arroyo Grande grocery store also lost points for not having paper towels at a hand washing sink in its fruit prep area and not having a sanitizer solution set up in the meat kitchen. It was also told to stop using sponges on food contact surfaces.
Pizmo Cafe, 270 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach
Points lost: 16
Notes: The Pismo Beach restaurant was ordered to be reinspected following its surprise check-in in May after an inspector observed a number of repeat violations. Most notably, that included “heavy food debris accumulation” on a table-mounted can opener, no food safety certifications on site and doors open without screens or air curtains to block potential vermin from entering. Along those lines, the restaurant also lost points for a sticky fly strip put up near a water heater. Other violations included a pizza slicer being kept in stagnant water, no sanitizer buckets set up in the kitchen and holes in the ceiling above the water heater and in one of the restrooms.
Beso, 1050 Willow Road, Nipomo
Points lost: 16
Notes: Inspectors found a number of health code violations during the May inspection of the new Nipomo restaurant, including the fact that the restaurant was preparing its pizzas outside. The inspector ordered the restaurant to ensure it took pizzas cooked in the outside oven back inside before slicing. The inspector also noted that Beso had “multiple temperature violations,” such as too-warm refrigerators and butter being kept out on the counter. The restaurant’s dishwasher was also not dispensing sanitizer, there was grime on the ice chute and clams in the preparation unit did not have their required shell stock tags.
Shandon Market & Deli, 240 Centre St., Shandon
Points lost: 15
Notes: Though the market area of it was clean, an inspector noted that the storage area of Shandon Market & Deli “needed to be cleaned and maintained” due to build up of “unused equipment and cardboard debris.” According to the inspection notes, the inspector couldn’t access the storage area behind the business’s walk-in freezer because a large, potentially broken refrigeration unit and several shopping carts filled with boxes blocked the entrance. Elsewhere in the market, the meat display case was at 45 degrees, slightly above the 41-degree requirement. Workers were keeping salsa and cheese stored below raw meats, while there were other packaged foods on the floor and unlabeled food for sale in a refrigeration unit.
Beach Pizza, 960 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach
Points lost: 14
Notes: An inspector ordered Beach Pizza in Grover Beach to be reinspected after the business was once again unable to verify food safety certifications during its routine May check-in. According to inspection notes, the restaurant has “been unable to provide proof of food safety training since 2019,” and employees lacked knowledge of how to use sanitizer for food safety. The inspector also noted there was heavy food debris on a large can opener and the restaurant was using a household freezer and mini fridge rather than commercial grade ones. The facility was also in need of a cleaning, according to the notes.
These businesses also lost 10 or more points due to violations.
Panaderia Carmelita No. 2, 1051 South 13th St., Grover Beach
Burrito Loco, 2808 South Halcyon Road, Arroyo Grande
House of Bread, 1025 Farmhouse Lane, San Luis Obispo
Thai BBQ and Combo, 630 First St., Paso Robles
Rib Line by the Beach, 359 W. Grand Avenue
Paso Pizza Kitchen, 625 12th St., Paso Robles
Highest-rated restaurants
These stores and restaurants received scores of 99 to 100, with few to no violations.
San Luis Obispo
- @ Bites, 195 N. Santa Rosa St.
- Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc, 894 Marsh St.
- Benny’s Pizza Palace and Social Club, 1601 Monterey St.
- Bing’s Bao Buns, 3845 S. Higuera St.
- Bishops Market/CS Beverage Company LLC, 3885 S. Higuera St.
- Black Sheep Bar & Grill, 1117 Chorro St.
- Brown Butter Cookie Company, 897 Higuera St.
- Budget Cafe, 3121 S Higuera St.
- Bull’s Tavern, 1040 Chorro St.
- Camp San Luis Obispo - MOA No. E0107, Highway 1, Building 854
- Conserv Fuel No. 6112, 2211 Broad St.
- CVS Pharmacy No. 9345, 717 Marsh St.
- Dollar Tree No. 01485, 2238 Broad St.
- Ebony, 778 Higuera St.
- Eureka! SLO, 1141 Chorro St.
- Giuseppe’s Cucina Rustica, 849 Monterey St.
- Humble Oven, 3845 S Higuera St.
- Jan’s Place, 1817 Osos St.
- Jamba Juice No. 12, 890 Marsh St.
- Jay Birds, 3845 S Higuera St.
- Louisa’s Place, 964 Higuera St.
- Lure Fish House, 1101 Monterey St.
- McDonald’s No. 350, 1100 Higuera St.
- My Friend Mike’s, 2324 Broad St.
- Popolo Catering, 1605 Calle Joaquin
- Quesadilla Gorilla, 570 Higuera St.
- Sally Loo’s Cafe, 1804 Osos St.
- Sandy’s Liquor & Deli, 586 Higuera St.
- SLO General Store, 3845 S. Higuera St.
- SLO Natural Foods, 2494 Victoria Ave.
- SLO Olive, 958 Higuera St.
- SLO’s Finest, 3563 Sueldo St.
- Sweetie Cup Tea House, 1118 Chorro St.
- Taqueria El Guero, 1122 Chorro St.
- Taste Craft Eatery, 2550 Broad St.
- The Secret Garden (Commissary Kitchen), 2146 Parker St.
- Trader Joe’s No. 41, 3977 S Higuera St.
- Typhoon, 858 Foothill Blvd., San Luis Obispo
- Unocal Fastbreak 76, 2015 Broad St.
- Woodstock’s Pizza Parlor, 1000 Higuera St.
- Yanagi Sushi, 1203 Marsh St.
North Coast
Beach Bums, 10 N. Ocean Ave. Suite 212, Cayucos
Big Sur Restaurant, 9290 Castillo Drive, San Simeon
Coast Riders Inn, 9450 Castillo Drive, San Simeon
- Morro Bay Oyster Company, 1287 Embarcadero, Morro Bay
- Morro Bay Veteran’s Building, 209 Surf St., Morro Bay
Quality Inn, 9260 Castillo Drive, San Simeon
- Taco Bell No. 3499, 1700 Main St., Morro Bay
South County
Sunshine Donuts, 537 W. Tefft St., Nipomo
North County
- Angela’s Pastries, 1401 Park St., Suite 104, Paso Robles
Calwise Spirits Co., 3340 Ramada Drive, Paso Robles
- Eberle Winery, 3810 Highway 46 East, Paso Robles
- El Pollo Loco, 2351 Theatre Drive, Paso Robles
- Home2Suites by Hilton, 1800 El Camino Real, Atascadero
La Salsa, 120 N. Third St., Shandon
Les Petites Canailles, 1215 Spring St., Paso Robles
McPhee’s Grill, 416 Main St., Templeton
Six Test Kitchen, 3075 Blue Rock Road, Unit B, Paso Robles
- Springhill Suites Paso Robles, 900 El Camino Real, Atascadero
The Summerwood Inn, 2130 Arbor Road, Paso Robles