Sewage, rodents, no hot water: Restaurant inspections in San Bernardino County, Jan. 28-Feb. 3

Here are the restaurants and other food facilities that San Bernardino County health inspectors temporarily shut down because of imminent health hazards between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3, 2022. If no reopening date is mentioned, the agency had not listed that facility as reopened as of this publication.

Thai Ivory Cuisine, 924 N. Central Ave., Upland

• Closed: Feb. 1
• Grade: 73/C
• Reason: Rodent infestation, no hot water. The inspector visited in response to a complaint from someone who said they saw a cockroach on their plate. The owner disputed that the bug was a cockroach, and said the restaurant is not currently getting pest control services. The inspector didn’t note any roaches or other bugs but did find fresh and dry rodent droppings in a number of locations, including under the fryer, under racks where clean utensils are stored and in the dining area. Also, the restaurant didn’t have hot water; the owner said the water heater was in disrepair. There was one other critical violation, for several large cans of oyster sauce having severe dents on the seams, and 11 lesser violations.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe, 12799 Foothill Blvd. Suite A, Rancho Cucamonga

• Closed: Jan. 28
• Grade: 90/A
• Reason: No hot water. There was one other critical violation, for some food being at unsafe temperatures in a small refrigerator.
• Reopened: Jan. 31 after hot water was restored

KFC/Taco Bell, 9619 Sheepcreek Road, Phelan

• Closed: Jan. 27
• Grade: 92/A
• Reason: Overflowing sewage. The restaurant was shut down twice last year because the septic system was overflowing, and the health department recently received another complaint that it was happening again. The manager told the inspector that the overflows have been an ongoing issue despite the system being serviced numerous times. When a sink in the restaurant was drained, sewage water flowed out of the septic system and into a dirt lot east of the facility, the inspector reported.
• Reopened: Jan. 28 after a new pump was installed in the septic system. An inspector visited again Feb. 1 and saw no overflow when sinks were drained or toilets were flushed. The restaurant was told that it needed to self-close if the overflows happen again and report it to the health department.

Non-closure inspections of note

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

MGM Burgers, at 11515 Cedar Ave. in Bloomington, was inspected Feb. 2 and received a grade of 76/C with two critical violations. There was slime and black mold in the ice machine, dripping into the ice. Also, some bacon cooked three hours earlier wasn’t being kept hot. Among the 10 other violations, there were 30-40 old rodent droppings on shelves in a storage area (not contaminating any food). The inspector said a thorough search showed no signs of an active infestation, but planned to return to make sure. The restaurant had previously received two B grades since 2019.

Panda Paradise, at 2012 N. Riverside Ave. Suite L in Rialto, was inspected Feb. 2 in response to a complaint alleging unspecified health code violations. It received a grade of 82/B with one critical violation for food-contact surfaces not being clean: The inspector found a “severe” mold buildup in the ice machine, contaminating ice, and there was old food debris on the meat slicer, meat grinder and a large mixer. Among the 11 other violations, cooked boba was left out at room temperature, some cooked chicken and rice weren’t being cooled down safely, the floors were excessively dirty and there was a severe buildup of dust and mold-like substance on some surfaces in the walk-in refrigerator (the inspector didn’t note any food being affected).

Chophouse 363, at 6939 Schaefer Ave. Suites A-C in Chino, was inspected Feb. 1 and received a grade of 82/B with two critical violations. A refrigerator wasn’t keeping cold and about 100 pounds of food inside had to be discarded (and two items in another fridge weren’t cold enough either). Also, an employee started to prepare food without washing hands. Among the six other violations, one handwashing sink was in disrepair and taped off, and another was out of soap and paper towels. This is the restaurant’s second B grade in less than a year.

Major Brain Freeze Yogurt, at 27923 Greenspot Road Suite C in Highland, was inspected Jan. 28 and received a grade of 80/B with two critical violations. There were 59 half-gallon cartons of frozen yogurt at 59-72 degrees inside two refrigerators that weren’t keeping cold. Also, an employee used hand sanitizer instead of washing hands. Among the seven other violations, two handwashing sinks were blocked and didn’t have soap or paper towels, and the shop’s only restroom was out of order. The operator was told they could only offer to-go orders, not dine-in service, as long as there was no available restroom.

No. 1 Asia Buffet, at 12819 Foothill Blvd. in Rancho Cucamonga, which received an 80/B on Jan. 12, requested another inspection. This time, on Jan. 28, it got an 85/B with one critical violation, for a dozen items at the buffet not being kept hot enough. Among the eight other violations, the restaurant wasn’t keeping track of how long sushi had been left at room temperature, there was mold in the ice machine (not touching ice), frozen fish wasn’t being defrosted safely, and the owner didn’t know how to cool down food safely or the proper concentration of sanitizer to clean surfaces. This was the restaurant’s fourth B grade since 2019 and it has been the subject of repeated food-safety complaints.

Updates from past weeks

Abelino’s Home Style Mexican Food, at 652 E. Redlands Blvd. in Redlands, which was shut down Jan. 26 because of a sewage leak, was permitted to reopen Jan. 27 after a plumber visited and the area was cleaned.

Nonna’s Italian Restaurant, at 1689 W. Kendall Drive Suite H in San Bernardino, which was shut down Jan. 19 because of a cockroach and rodent infestation, was permitted to reopen Jan. 27. The inspector did find one live nymph roach and eight dead roaches, but no rodent droppings. Pest control was scheduled to return the next day and another follow-up inspection was planned.

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 one to three points for minor violations. An A grade (90 to 100 points) is considered “generally superior,” a B grade (80 to 89) is “generally acceptable” and a C grade (70 to 79) is “generally unacceptable” and requires a follow-up inspection. A facility will be temporarily closed if it scores below 70 or has a critical violation that can’t be corrected immediately.

For more information on inspections of these or any restaurants in San Bernardino County, visit www.sbcounty.gov/dph/ehsportal/FacilityList/food. To file a health complaint, go to www.sbcounty.gov/dph/ehsportal/StaticComplaint or call 800-442-2283.