Popular Tucson Pizza Restaurant Placed on Probation After 4th Health Inspection

A local pizza restaurant did not perform well on its health inspection.Photo byMikael SeegenonUnsplash

When it comes to ordering a slice of pizza, you shouldn’t have to think twice about how clean the restaurant is. After all, whether you’re grabbing some pies for a work lunch or putting on a weekend birthday party, the quality of the kitchen likely isn’t something that passes your mind. A restaurant is open, so it should have a clean kitchen, right? Well, one Tucson pizza restaurant was just put on probation after failing its most recent health inspections. So, before you head out for some pizza, make sure you double-check its health records.

Located at 4911 North Stone Avenue here in Tucson, Scordato’s Pizzeria has had several problems with the county health department over the last several years. In fact, it has already been visited by the department five times this year. Typically, a restaurant will receive one visit, and as long as everything checks out, the health department won’t return for another year. With so many restaurants to stop by, there simply isn’t enough time to check in on locations that regularly adhere to the rules.

Scordato’s Pizzeria’s most recent slew of health inspections started on August 12. On this visit, a whopping 20 health violations were identified. That resulted in the restaurant receiving a “Needs Improvement” grade. A return inspection was scheduled 10 days out, to give the restaurant time to make the necessary improvements. This repeat inspection took place on August 22, and while improvements were made, it still had 10 violations. The restaurant was given a “Fail” grade following the inspection.

However, a Fail grade does not result in an immediate closure. Outside of imminent danger to workers or customers (such as raw sewage backflowing out of clogged pipes), a health department prefers to keep a restaurant open. Due to this, a third visit was scheduled for September 3. The restaurant did, again, make some subtle improvements, but still 7 violations were noted. This has resulted in the restaurant being placed on “Probation.”

On these repeat visits, the health department does not make additional notes or indicate which of the original 20 violations remain and need to be addressed. However, a fourth visit since the middle of August would have taken place on September 13, to determine if the restaurant has finally made the necessary improvements. The results of this information will not be made known to the public for at least another week. Scordato’s Pizzeria has remained open the entire time.