A cockroach, flies, mold, expired food all found in Springfield-area kitchens in June

A favorite Mexican restaurant for Springfield foodies was found to have multiple health code violations from the Sangamon County Department of Public Health in June.

Charro Mexican Restaurant on Sunrise Drive received 20 health code violations on June 21 ; of those violations, 14 were high-risk for the public safety. According to the inspection performed, the health inspector observed degreaser was attached to the dispenser instead of sanitizer at the mop sink.

The health inspector also noted there were several personal employee items like phone chargers, clothing and food mixed in with the food product intended for customers, and that raw chicken and fish were stored on top of one another.

Charro opened its doors to the community in May of 2024 and in the past, first-time inspections for restaurants tend to have more violations. A reinspection has not been done yet at the establishment.

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Food establishments are inspected by the Sangamon County Department of Public Health on an annual schedule that is determined by assigned risk type. The risk types are high, medium, or low risk, as defined by the Illinois Food Service Sanitation Code. These are determined by the complexity of food preparation taking place at the facility. Routine inspections are conducted unannounced. Follow up and complaint inspections are conducted as needed.

Critical violations concern hygiene, food temperatures, sanitizing procedures, and cross contamination. Non-critical violations concern the maintenance and cleanliness of a facility.

Here are the Sangamon County restaurants that received more than 10 violations from the health department during the month of June.

Homestyle Cafe

Location: 1144 N. 9th St., Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 20, routine inspection.

What: Result found 18 violations with 4 risk factors.

Notes from inspection: At Homestyle, most violations came from employee level safety requirements. The inspection found signed employee reporting agreements are not available for the majority of the kitchen staff, while at the same time there was no certified food protection manager on site to maintain the food regulation. An employee was observed moving from dirty to clean dishes without washing hands first, while another employee could not provide proof of food handler training. None of the employees present have completed allergen training.  On top of that, there is grease accumulation on the inside and outside of the ventilation hood over the cookline.

Jay’s Food Mart

Location: 1608 S. Grand Ave. E, Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 6, routine inspection.

What: Result found 18 violations with 7 risk factors.

Notes from inspection: Observed beef and eggs being stored on the floor in the walk in-cooler, which the operator stated the delivery had occurred the day prior. Mouse droppings were found in the dry storage area, which was not cleaned like ceiling tiles, the reach-in freezer, and fryer hoods. Several caddies in the fridge were visibly soiled with non-customer items. Inspector did not observe any date marking on mashed potatoes and mac and cheese that were individually portioned from bulk.

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The Howlett Building

Location: 501 S. 2nd St., Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 20, routine inspection.

What: Result found 13 violations with 5 risk factors.

Notes from inspection: Cookies packaged in advance of retail sale in the food establishment do not have proper labels or information available at point of sale. The inspectors noted that employees are lacking the habit of using a clean barrier to turn off the faucet to constitute proper hand washing. This was observed at least 3 times between two different employees. The fan at the end of the cook line and air conditioning vent in the same location are both soiled with dust and grease.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Location: 4420 Wabash Ave., Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 18, routine inspection.

What: Result found 12 violations , including 3 risk factors.

Notes from inspection: Foods were observed out of temperature in the short cookline prep cooler. Foods were observed in Fahrenheit: shredded chicken at 61 degrees and 47 degrees; shredded cheese at 46 degrees; lettuce at 50 degrees; Pico de Gallo at 46 degrees; sliced tomatoes at 48 degrees; hardboiled eggs at 49 degrees; bleu cheese at 59 degrees; mac and cheese at 46 degrees; lettuce at 45 degrees; sour cream at 48 degrees; and ranch dressing at 47 degrees. Food code mandates food should be maintained at 41 degrees or less or else risk being soiled.

Java Island Kitchen

Location: 2501 Wabash Ave., Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 18, routine inspection.

What: Result found 12 violations with 6 risk factor interventions.

Notes from inspection: Observed raw beef and raw fish to be stored above raw vegetables in kitchen display cooler; in another cooler salmon and oranges for sushi were found molded. A container of bleach and two containers of detergent were to be stored on top of a box of soda syrup as well during the inspection. Per owner, a container of beef and a container of chicken in the kitchen display cooler were left out overnight at room temperature to thaw. According to health code however, thawing must take place in a cooler, or under running water. Items were discarded during inspection.

Shark’s Food Mart

Location: 100 W. Ash St., Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 6, routine inspection.

What: Result found 12 violations with 8 risk factor violations.

Notes from inspection: A shoe box with brownies was observed on a shelf in the facility. When asked, the person in charge indicated that they are sometimes sold to customers and are made at home. Many culinary cutting utensils were observed soiled during the inspection including a can opener with dried food waste, multiple knives stored on a magnetic strip soiled with food debris as well as multiple pans and knives stored ready to use were already soiled with food waste. According to the report, both situations appeared to be related to the items not being effectively cleaned when washed. These items were shown to the PIC, and they were instructed to have them rewashed. The items were moved to the dishes for recleaning to correct the immediate violation. A discussion was had with the dish washers and oversight conducted to ensure that the food contact items are being effectively cleaned prior to storage.

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Fairgrounds Cafe

Location: 1923 N. Peoria Road, Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 27, routine inspection.

What: Result found 11 violations with 7 risk factor violations.

Notes from inspection: The inspector observed two whole chickens to be thawing on the counter in the dish area. Originally, the person in charge said the food was being thawed in a bucket without running water, which was corrected during the process. Several food items were found stored in prep coolers along the cook line to not be date marked or labeled. Some items were not in their original packaging; the items include but aren’t limited to cheeses, taco meats and sauces. Items were pulled from the prep coolers and were properly labeled and date marked. Observed a container of fish stored in the back standing freezer to be uncovered. The container was also broken in multiple places and small pieces of plastic were found on the fish. Discussed with PIC and fish was discarded.

La Fiesta Grande

Location: 2830 Adlai Stevenson Drive, Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 26, routine inspection.

What: Result found 11 violations with 6 risk factor violations.

Notes from inspection: Unfrozen seafood and lack of gloves litter this violation. According to the report from the inspector, staff was not educated on proper handwashing, sanitizing concentrations for dishes, prevention of cross-contamination during storage, proper cold holding temperature for keeping frozen foods frozen, and glove use. Several foods in the walk-in freezer were found unfrozen, due to a malfunction of the freezer. Scallops, shrimp, imitation crab, beef, bacon, and corn dogs were probed, and the temperatures ranged from 37.8 degrees to 45.4 degrees. The dishwasher sanitizer was found during the inspection to be at zero and when a lab tech was contacted to come service the machine, the technician told the inspector the machine could not be serviced because the chemical sanitizer was not directly purchased through Ecolab.

Wendy’s

Location: 2901 Lindbergh Blvd., Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 17, routine inspection.

What: Result found 11 violations with 3 risk factor violations.

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Notes from inspection: It appears the drink mixers in the kitchen are warm this summer, for anything but the scorching outdoor heat. Frosty mix in the standing cooler next to the ice machine was at 65 degrees while the cooler under the lemonade had half-and-half creamer which was also at 65 degrees. The person in charge was consulted during the inspection and voluntarily threw out the items which were out of temperature safety range. Several physical areas in the building need to be cleaned in the walk-in cooler, according to the inspection. There was mold on stickers, mold on shelves, mold on the light fixtures, frost in the freezer next to the fryers, food-splash on the counter near the chili and soil beneath the Birthday Grimace frosty machine.

Hardee’s

Location: 2501 Adlai Stevenson Drive, Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 20, routine inspection.

What: Result found 10 violations , with 3 risk factor violations.

Notes from inspection: It was observed during the inspection that there were several pest issues throughout the facility. There was an accumulation of flies around the ice machine in the back of the building, in the men’s bathroom, in front of the walk-in cooler, and in the room with the soda syrups. A single live roach was observed to be running behind the batter station as well. The inspector also observed that the milkshake machine was not cleaned and there was still ice cream residue on the mixer and in the milkshake cup from the previous day. When asked when the machine was previously used, the PIC said the previous day, as they had not made any milkshakes that morning. Mold was accumulating in the walk-in cooler, which needs maintenance along with several storage areas in the building which also require attention to be fixed and properly sealed.

Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@gannett.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: A cockroach, flies, mold, expired food all found in Springfield-area kitchens in June