Restaurant Report Card: Roach feces leads to an ‘F’

Restaurant Report Card

Posted: Nov 14, 2013 / 09:14 PM MST

Updated: Nov 14, 2013 / 09:35 PM MST

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DENVER — A Denver restaurant earned an “F” on our report card for their roaches and roach feces.

East Asia Garden

East Asia Garden located at 1156 South Broadway failed our report for 19 critical violations in their last two inspections.

In September, inspectors said a “live roach (was) observed crawling around in (an) open container of cornstarch.” Health experts also said “two baby roaches (were) observed on food preparation table” and “more than 200 dead roaches observed on floors, food storage shelves and in traps throughout the kitchen” and “excessive amounts of roach feces observed on walls, in crevices, in refrigerator gaskets, near electrical outlets etc.”

Their health report also said three tubs of dirty dishes were left in the dining room from the night before and employees were handling cigarettes and lighters then handling clean utensils without washing their hands.

The inspector found “eggs on the counter measured 85 degrees” which could make you sick. The eggs were thrown out and Denver’s Department of Environmental Health closed the restaurant for 24 hours for deep cleaning.

An employee at East Asia Garden told FOX31 Denver’s Heidi Hemmat that the violations had been corrected and that they hired a new exterminator to rid the restaurant of roaches.

El Señor Sol

Next, we travel to El Señor Sol located at 2301 7th St. in Denver. The Mexican restaurant was cited for 11 critical violations.

In July, inspectors found “rodent droppings in the upstairs bar cabinet where liquor bottles are stored” and “a dead rodent behind the bar.”

The inspector also found food that needed to be thrown out including “moldy corn dogs” and “blue cheese with a layer of mold on top.”

Investigators also said the restaurant had no hot water, no food thermometer and no sanitizer.

El Señor Sol’s owner did not want to talk about the violations on camera, but sent a statement which read in part, “We worked with the Denver Department of Environmental Health on all issues and everything has been corrected.”

Finley’s Pub

And, our grade A goes to Finley’s Pub at 375 South Pearl St. near Washington Park in Denver.

The Irish pub earned an “A+” for back-to-back perfect health inspections. Owner Pete Van Itallie said, “We have schedules and procedures and I keep them to it. They listen to what I want them to do and they actually do it.”