The Mesa County Public Health Department conducts routine and complaint-based inspections of every restaurant from Loma to Collbran.
The Sentinel’s Restaurant Blotter summarizes inspection outcomes for local eateries every two weeks, empowering the reader to make informed dining decisions in the future.
Because of the high volume of restaurant inspections, this blotter is exclusive to the Sentinel’s website.
The following blotter is a summary of inspection reports, so they are not comprehensive. To view the full reports for individual restaurants, visit the health department’s website.
This series is not produced or endorsed by Mesa County Public Health.
Mesa County Public Health’s website disclaims that inspection reports are only a snapshot of the restaurants’ conditions during a specific day and time.
Locals can file a complaint about safety or sanitation regarding local restaurants, body art businesses, child care facilities and public pools by calling 970-248-6900 or completing an online form on Mesa County Public Health’s website.
Please email any questions, feedback or concerns about the blotter to Jace.DiCola@GJSentinel.com.
Key terms explained
Mesa County Public Health uses a “risk index” to score establishments on different safety and quality practices, informing the final decision to pass, close or require re-inspection of a facility.
A passing result means the establishment met essential food safety standards, with some or no violations found. A business can still pass with some violations, as long as most or all of them are corrected during the inspection.
If re-inspection is required, then several “fundamental” food safety violations were found, but not to an extent that warrants immediate closure. Even if corrections were made during the inspection, a follow-up is required to ensure food safety standards are consistently upheld.
If conditions are not improved upon re-inspection, the restaurant is subject to a suspended license and must close until the public health department determines that violations were corrected. Failing a re-inspection may also incur a civil penalty upwards of $1,000.
Facilities can also be closed during the initial inspection if the department discovers “significant unsanitary conditions or other imminent health hazards.”
Establishments listed more than once were re-inspected for violations found in an initial investigation, or they were re-inspected for approval to reopen after a forced closure.
CLOSED:
No establishments have closed since the last blotter edition, on Oct. 15.
RE-INSPECTION REQUIRED:
None of the local health department’s visits required a re-inspection in this edition of the blotter (for the first time in more than four months).
Three of the four facilities requiring re-inspection in the Oct. 15 blotter have since received and passed their follow-up visits:
Del Taco, 2878 North Ave.The De Beque Country Store, 332 Minter Ave.Pour Fellows, 701 Main St.
As of Oct. 28, The Coffee Trader, 2566 Patterson Road, has not received a follow-up since the public health department’s Oct. 13 inspection found nine violations.
PASSED:
Colorado Mesa University Resident Dining Hall (“The Caf”), 1455 N. 12th St.
Routine inspection on Oct. 15. Four violations:
An employee wearing gloves was observed placing raw beef patties on a flat-top grill, removing their gloves and proceeding to handle clean tongs for French fries without first washing their hands.The handwashing sink near the dishwasher lacked signage reminding staff to wash their hands.Multiple pans of partially cooked raw chicken and a pan of partially cooked steak were observed in a fridge without labels indicating they were not fully cooked. The establishment also lacked the approved written procedure required for the cooking technique.Unbaked cheese and Mediterranean pizzas sitting at the pizza station measured 70 and 66 degrees, respectively, which is well outside the range required to preserve hot or cold food items. Whipped butter and various cream cheese flavors at the waffle station also measured 17 to 22 degrees above the temperature required for preservation.
Del Taco, 2878 North Ave.
Re-inspection on Oct. 20. Three violations:
An employee was observed handling French fries with their bare hands while placing them into a bag.Food items stored on top of a cold-holding unit – including diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo and cheese – measured two to nine degrees above the range required for preservation.The cold-top unit had an ambient temperature measuring three degrees above the range required to preserve food.
De Beque Country Store, 332 Minter Ave.
Re-inspection on Oct. 20. Four violations:
Two slices of pizza in a hot-holding unit measured 20 degrees below the required temperature.Several food items, including gravy, green chili and sliced meats, did not have a date mark indicating when they must be discarded.Upon measurement, the sanitizing solution used to wipe utensils and surfaces had no detectable sanitizer.A large pot of chili cooling in the walk-in freezer was not cooling at the required pace to prevent potential bacterial growth.
The TBR Book Bar, 242 S. Mulberry St. (Fruita).
Routine inspection on Oct. 21. Five violations:
The person in charge did not have the required food safety certificate.The facility’s dishwashing machine could not produce the required temperature of at least 160 degrees. Additionally, the espresso machine’s steam wand was being wiped with a cloth that was not intermittently stored in sanitizer.Food inside the display fridge, including cheeses, salami and pepperoni, measured four degrees above the required temperature.In-use coffee stirring utensils were stored in water measuring below the required temperature.The facility lacked a specialized temperature indicator for its dishwashing machine to ensure proper function.
Domino’s, 2249 Broadway Unit 102A.
Routine inspection on Oct. 21. Two violations:
Upon measurement, several food items along the pizza prep line – including bagged pasta, bagged grilled chicken and popcorn chicken – measured 16 to 20 degrees above the temperature required for preservation.The operator was observed placing packaged lettuce in the handwashing sink to be discarded.
Sprouts Farmers Market, 1450 Independent Ave Unit 100.
Routine inspection on Oct. 21. Three violations:
An employee in the deli prep area was observed washing their hands “for less than a few seconds before engaging in food preparation.”Upon measurement, rotisserie chicken in a hot-holding case measured two degrees below the required temperature.Upon measurement, multiple “raw meat meal kits,” including black truffle steak and hot honey salmon, measured one to four degrees above the range required for preservation. A similar issue was found in the deli department sandwich prep cooler, with the overfilled units resulting in different cheeses measuring above the 41-degree limit.
Fruita Middle School, 1835 J Road.
Routine inspection on Oct. 21. Zero violations.
Holy Family School, 786 26 1/2 Road.
Routine inspection on Oct. 22. Three violations:
The person in charge did not have the required food safety certificate.The facility’s dishwashing machine could not produce the required temperature until the fourth attempt.Inside a walk-in cooler, ground beef was observed without a date mark indicating when the product must be discarded.
Walmart, 2545 Rimrock Ave.
Routine inspection on Oct. 22. Five violations:
The handwashing sink in the front bakery area did not have paper towels.Numerous canned food items – including salsas, soups, beans and tomatoes – had severe denting along the body and seal of the can.Raw ground beef was observed stored on a rack above lamb chops.In the front grab-n-go section, several items – including a beef burrito, chicken hummus wrap and all-American sub – measured three to four degrees above the required temperature. The cooler had an ambient temperature measuring nine to 10 degrees above the limit. Additionally, inside a cooler, various whipped creams and egg nogs measured three to seven degrees above the required temperature.Inside the bakery area, a sink was observed with its spray nozzle stored below the sink basin’s flood rim. “An air gap must be present to prevent backflow.”
Carniceria Sonoyta, 3225 I-70 Business Loop, Ste. B1 (Clifton).
Re-inspection on Oct. 26. Three violations:
In the cold-top fridge, an open pack of raw bacon was stored above ready-to-eat items, such as “various types of salsas.”Employees were observed continuously taking temperatures of food, including reheated meats and beans, with a probe thermometer; staff stored and reused the device without cleaning it.Upon measurement, cooked peppers in the salad bar measured four degrees above the temperature required for preservation.
Graff Dairy, 581 29 Road.
Routine inspection on Oct. 26. Two violations:
The facility’s dishwashing machine contained an inadequate amount of sanitizer.Inside a Pepsi-branded reach-in fridge, milk and heavy cream measured four to five degrees above the range required for preservation.
Pour Fellows, 701 Main St.
Re-inspection on Oct. 27. Seven violations:
An employee wearing gloves was observed handling raw fish, removing their gloves and neglecting to wash their hands before donning new gloves.An employee was observed handling an orange slice with their bare hands while garnishing a drink in the bar area.Inside an open-top fridge, American cheese and meatloaf measured two to seven degrees above the range required for preservation.Two gallons of milk were not labeled with the date they were opened, which is required to ensure the products are discarded before expiration.An employee used a wet wiping cloth to clean a cutting board at the cookline, but the sanitizing solution used for the wiping cloths was measured and did not detect any sanitizer.Recently prepared coleslaw was found cooling at an improper pace, risking potential spoilage.The menu’s consumer advisory had a reminder statement on the risks of foodborne illness, but it did not specifically disclose how the establishment’s undercooked food items are served.
Broadway Elementary School, 2248 Broadway.
Routine inspection on Oct. 27. Zero violations.
Nisley Elementary School, 543 28 3/4 Road.
Routine inspection on Oct. 28. One violation:
Inside the walk-in fridge, a container of red salsa was observed stored past the seven-day discard threshold.
