Flies and dirty can openers: See results of SLO County’s April restaurant inspections

One local restaurant had flies, two were dinged for dirty can openers and several had problems with sinks.

Those were some of the notable conditions San Luis Obispo County health inspectors found in April during just over 100 surprise visits to eating and drinking establishments.

Many food and beverage sellers passed with flying colors, while others needed to make serious improvements.

Every month, The Tribune prints the lowest- and highest-ranked eateries to give diners more information about the places where they buy food and drinks.

Inspectors visit restaurants, bars, coffee shops, grocery stores, mini-marts and more on a monthly basis. They score eateries on a 100-point scale and make deductions based on the severity of the violations they find.

To check out the safety and cleanliness of your favorite restaurants around the county, visit EatSafeSLO.org and use the interactive map to view full inspection reports.

Here are the highs and lows of the 109 inspections Environmental Health employees conducted in April.

Lowest-rated restaurants

Denny’s, 611 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach

Points lost: 17.5

Notes: During its routine inspection in April, the Pismo Beach chain restaurant received several violations, largely surrounding improper food handling. Those included eggs and egg mixtures sitting out with no temperature control, raw bacon bits being kept on top of apple crisp toppings and a number of workers having expired food handler cards. The inspector also noted that workers were using bowls to scoop food and storing used utensils in a cup of room-temperature water. The facility was also in need of some cleaning and repairs, according to the inspection notes, with the hand sink tearing away from the wall and grease filters missing above the cook line and fryers. The restaurant also lost a significant amount of points for repeat violations.

Penny’s All-American Cafe, 1053 Price St., Pismo Beach

Points lost: 17

Notes: Penny’s All-American Cafe was one of two restaurants to need to be reinspected after routine inspections in April. During the initial look through, an inspector saw “whole shrimp” and other food debris in a hand washing sink that is not meant for food preparation, and workers washing their hands in the sink that is meant for food prep. The restaurant was ordered to use the correct sinks to prevent cross contamination.

The inspector also noted there was “heavy accumulation of food debris on the large table-mounted can opener,” which was a repeat violation for the Pismo Beach restaurant. Next to it, an ice cream scoop was also seen sitting on a dirty prep table, the inspector said.

Mildew was observed on the gaskets of the refrigeration unit — another repeat violation, this time going back to 2021, according to inspection notes.

Overall, the facility needed some deep cleaning of the microwaves, fridges and freezers, shelves, prep tables and cook line equipment and repairs needed to be made to a broken window screen that could allow vermin into the restaurant. Flies were seen inside the facility, an inspector noted, because the front and back doors were propped open. A re-inspection was ordered at which the violations needed to be correct or the restaurant would potentially face fines.

Brasserie SLO, 1119 Garden St., San Luis Obispo

Points lost: 12.5

Notes: Brasserie SLO was the second of two SLO County restaurants to require additional inspections in April. According to the initial inspection notes, the restaurant had a number of difficulties with its sinks: Soap and paper towels were not present at either of the two sinks in the bakery area while the hand-washing sink in the pizza area was inaccessible, and again without paper towels. Meanwhile, ice and straws were seen in the hand-washing sink in the bar area. The restaurant also got dinged for having a dirty table-mounted can opener, shellfish containers that weren’t properly tagged and uncovered containers in the fridge. The inspector noted uncovered bread was seen being stored on top of uncovered meat and that the fridge shelves were lined with wiping cloths. In its re-inspection later in the month, the restaurant corrected all of its previous violations.

Highest-rated restaurants

These stores and restaurants received scores between 99 and 100, with few to no violations.

San Luis Obispo

• Central Coast Creamery 3845 S. Higuera St.

• Domino’s Pizza, 866 Foothill Blvd.

• Gold Land BBQ, 570 Higuera St. (change of ownership inspection)

• Mama Ganache Artisan Chocolates, 3845 Higuera St.

• Perfect Scoop LLC, 3845 Higuera St.

• San Luis Obispo Golf and Country Club, Inc., 255 Country Club Drive

• SLO General Store, 3845 Higuera St.

• Starbucks Coffee No. 5251, 17 Chorro St.

North Coast

• Dorn’s Original, 801 Market Ave., Morro Bay

South County

• Blue Moon Over Avila/ Louie’s at the Beach, 460 Front St., Avila Beach

• Central Coast Meat Market, 841 Dolliver Ave., Pismo Beach

• Kon Tiki Inn, 1621 Price St., Pismo Beach

• McDonald’s No. 14896, 1550 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach

• Sheldon’s Bait Shack, 100 W. Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach

North County

• Aliyah’s Kitchen, 11250 Viejo Camino, Atascadero (opening inspection)

• La Salsa Market Deli, 120 N. Third St., Shandon

• Six Test Kitchen, 3075 Blue Rock Road, Paso Robles