Closed shops get same grades as most county restaurants
MAIN STREET — A routine county inspection led to the closure of three Main Street shops on Tuesday because they were infested with rodents.
County health inspectors, after discovering the stores had too many mice, shut down the buildings until the vermin are removed.
The Coffee Bean, Main Street Bagels and Rick’s Tavern all had to close due to health code violations. Employees said their shops expect to be back up and running within days. The restaurants are all located within one building on the east side of Main Street.
Business owners declined to comment.
Terrance Powell, Los Angeles County health specialist, said he is not aware of a history of rodents affecting those establishments.
He said such inspections are common, and if there is an infestation within one shop, health inspectors often will follow the trail to see where it ends.
“What happened is as the inspectors looked inside the facility, they saw there was a problem,” Powell said. “They looked next door to see how pervasive the problem was.
“It was enough of a problem to close those businesses.”
The inspection report said 50 rodent droppings were found at Main Street Bagels at 2905 Main St. The droppings were inside the cabinets where the soda syrup dispensers are kept, and also above, on and below the food preparation table, the report said.
At the Coffee Bean, 2901 Main St., the inspectors found rodent droppings inside the cabinets used to store utensils.
At Rick’s Tavern, 2907 Main St., the inspectors said they found rodent droppings on top of the ice machine in the kitchen area.
Powell said buildings are constructed in such a way that it is difficult for rodents to penetrate them. However, during the summer months, residents and business owners frequently open their doors and windows, exposing themselves to easy infiltration by vermin.
Main Street Bagels was directed in the inspection report to seal gaps exposed underneath the door and to keep doors closed unless they are being used.
Dubbed one of the “shining stars” of the Los Angeles County Health Department’s grading system, Santa Monica’s kitchens are cleaner than most, Powell told the Daily Press last week.
The Los Angeles County Health Department serves as the watchdog for the public in making sure that the people who handle food are doing it safely, cleanly and properly. Based on unannounced visits from health inspectors, food establishments are measured on a unique grading system that deducts points for infractions, starting from 100. The system was devised to allow the public a way to gauge for themselves whether it’s clean or safe enough to eat somewhere.
At the end of the past fiscal year, which ran from July 2004 to June 2005, 91 percent of Santa Monica businesses received an “A” rating, which is 9 percent higher than the county average of 82 percent. And for the three years prior, Santa Monica remained well above the county average, Powell said. In Santa Monica, the health department in 2004-05 graded 657 businesses, 122 of which are restaurants and 136 are markets.
The three shops closed on Tuesday received grades between 82 to 84, which constitutes a “B” rating.
Tuesday’s closures stopped short of including buildings next door to the affected businesses. A bartender from the Library Ale House said the bar had been inspected for rodents last week and passed. The county said it will conduct another inspection next week, but so far, the Library Ale House hasn’t been affected.
“We’re happily open for business,” the bartender said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 17, 2005. Read the original PDF.