Roaches, rodents, no hot water: Restaurant closures, inspections in Riverside County, March 18-24

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Here are the restaurants and other food facilities that Riverside County Department of Environmental Health inspectors temporarily shut down because of imminent health hazards between March 18 and 24, 2022. If no reopening date is mentioned, the department had not listed that facility as reopened as of this publication.

Alaska Crab, 12580 Day St., Moreno Valley

  • Closed: March 24
  • Grade: Not graded
  • Reason: Failed grease interceptor

Vineyard Rose Restaurant at South Coast Winery, 34843 Rancho California Road, Temecula

  • Closed: March 23
  • Grade: 91/A, passing, in inspection after reopening
  • Reason: No hot water. The inspector came for a routine inspection but halted it upon realizing there was no hot water. The manager said maintenance was already working to fix the water heater. The inspector had them discard food made while the hot water was out.
  • Reopened: Later that day

China King Restaurant, 295 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

  • Closed: March 18
  • Grade: 68/C, failing
  • Reason: Cockroach infestation. The inspector visited in response to a complaint and found five or six roaches on a wall behind hanging utensils and another one on the floor. There were three critical violations: An employee killed a roach with bare hands and then touched diced bell peppers without washing. Food was also contaminated when an employee placed a trash bag on food at the prep table, and because raw chicken and beef were touching in overfilled containers. Additionally, shelled and pooled eggs were at unsafe temperatures, and tapioca balls and hoisin sauce that required refrigeration had been left out for two to three days. Among the 15 other violations, an employee said utensils are washed only once a day (at least every four hours is required), weed killer was stored next to the meat grinder, cooked pork wasn’t being cooled down safely and the facility needed cleaning. This was the restaurant’s second failed inspection since 2019.

Wang’s in the Desert, 424 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

  • Closed: March 18
  • Grade: Not graded
  • Reason: Rodent infestation. An inspector visited in response to a complaint that someone saw multiple rats. The owner was aware of the problem and said they’d been working with pest control. The inspector found droppings throughout the facility, including inside containers of clean dishes, on shelves holding clean dishes and open containers of food, below prep tables and cooking equipment, on shelving at the food pickup window, in the customer dining area and in the employee break room. There were also gnaw marks and droppings on a package of salt.
  • Reopened: March 23 after pest control visited twice and affected areas were cleaned. The inspector did find a few old droppings on the floor behind some cardboard.
  • New grade: 92/A, passing

Non-closure inspections of note

Here are selected inspections at facilities that weren’t closed but had significant issues.

Duke’s Bar & Grill, at 3221 Iowa Ave. in Riverside, was inspected March 23 and received a failing grade of 84/B with one critical violation. Food was at unsafe temperatures in a cooler that was impounded for not keeping cold and in a hot holding unit that needed to be turned up. Among the 10 other violations, the inspector found one live and five dead roaches on a glue trap, as well as numerous other dead roaches in a dusty cabinet at the wait station. Pest control had visited the day before and the inspector advised to have them back before the follow-up inspection in a week. Additionally, the facility was told to cease construction on a new restroom and office/storage area that had started without the health department’s approval.

Sammy G’s, at 265 S. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, was inspected March 18 in response to a foodborne illness complaint and received a failing grade of 81/B with one critical violation. Several items were at unsafe temperatures in the walk-in dairy refrigerator, which was impounded for not keeping cold. Among the 11 other violations, cooked chicken and pasta had been left at room temperature to cool, there was biofilm in the ice machine, knives had been put away dirty, there were a few flies, the inspector found two old rodent droppings in an unapproved food storage area that wasn’t properly vermin-proofed, and the restaurant needed cleaning. This was the restaurant’s second failed inspection since 2019.

To Go Sushi, at 40101 Monterey Ave. Suite G2 in Rancho Mirage, was inspected March 16 in response to a foodborne illness complaint and received a failing grade of 80/B with one critical violation. The sushi chef didn’t wash hands after using a dirty towel. Among the 11 other violations, raw tuna and imitation crab were at unsafe temperatures in two coolers, one of which was impounded for not keeping cold; other prepared food wasn’t being cooled down safely; and utensils weren’t being sanitized properly.

About this list

This list is published online on Fridays. Any updates as restaurants are reopened will be included in next week’s list.

All food facilities in the county are routinely inspected to ensure they meet health codes. A facility loses four points for each critical violation — and may have to close if the violation can’t be corrected immediately — and one or two points for minor violations. An A grade (90 to 100 points) is passing. Grades of B (80 to 89 points) and C (79 or below) are failing and typically require the proprietor to make improvements and be re-inspected.

For more information on inspections of these or any restaurants in Riverside County, visit restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org. To submit a health complaint about a restaurant, go to www.rivcoeh.org/Complaint or call 888-722-4234 during business hours or 951-782-2968 after-hours.

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