DENVER — Each week, FOX31 and Channel 2 report on recent health inspections for restaurants in the Denver area. This week, we featured one failed location in Lakewood, two failed locations in Edgewater and a winner in Arvada.
Holiday Lanes (F)
The Lakewood bowling alley features a full-service restaurant which scored 10 serious heath code issues in December.
Mistakes include:
- Employees not washing hands
- Raw pork stored over green chili
- Dish machine had no chlorine
- Mashed potatoes and hamburgers were not held hot enough
Holiday Lanes sent the following comment:
“We take food safety very seriously and worked closely with the inspectors to correct the issues identified during our last inspection. The inspector performed a re-inspection and found that we had corrected the issues.”
Holiday Lanes is located at 10350 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood.
Edgewater Public Market (F)
A Jefferson County inspector found five violations last month in the common areas, including:
- No soap at two hand sinks
- Trash can blocked another sink
- Sanitizer supply was empty
- Dish machine was not sanitizing with chlorine
The market sent a statement that says in part:
“Health and safety of our tenants and vendors our biggest priority, so we are glad we were able to resolve Jeff Co’s specific concerns immediately.”
Inside the market, the health inspector cited most of the locations for additional violations, including marking four mistakes at The Mac Shack.
The Mac Shack (F)
- Several packaged of cooked macaroni had no throw-out dates
- Cheeses were not held at the correct temperature
- Spray bottles containing chemicals were unlabeled
The Mac Shack’s owner Shannon Hardenbrook told the Problem Solvers they have a plan to prevent future issues.
“We also put together a more detailed an employee manual that shows everything has to be dated. Even though our pasta is cooked daily, a date on the bag is required. This is one of the best groups of people I’ve worked with in this food hall as it relates to food safety. Everybody helps everybody else,” Hardenbrook said.
The public market is located at 5505 W. 10th Ave., Edgewater.
Jack’s and Steamers (A)
Our “A” goes to Jack’s and Steamers in Arvada for three perfect health inspections in a row.
“It’s really hard to get a perfect inspection. So many things can go wrong — so many small things. It starts from day one with training. It’s all part of the routine and systems of this place. We have been able to have really good long-term employees, so it carries over into our everyday preparations,” kitchen manager Garrett McGovern said.
How does it feel to score the A?
“It’s really good. It’s really hard. And we sure appreciate it,” said McGovern.
You’ll find Jack’s and Steamers at 8566 Five Parks Dr., Arvada.
How restaurants appear on our Report Card
Restaurant Report Card features health inspections in the city and county of Denver, Jefferson County, Weld County, Broomfield and restaurants under the jurisdiction of the Tri-County Health Department. The Tri-County Health Department includes Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties.
An inspection is a “snapshot” of what is happening during the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have more or fewer violations than noted in an inspection. Also, at the time of an inspection, violations are recorded and can be corrected prior to the inspector leaving the restaurant. If violations are not corrected, a follow-up inspection is scheduled.
The criteria FOX31 Denver uses to give a restaurant a failing grade includes the evaluation of two unannounced inspections by county health inspectors. A failing restaurant must have five or four critical violations on their most recent regular inspection and five or four critical violations on the previous regular inspection. The restaurant may also fail for eight or more violations in one inspection. Health inspectors may conduct critical or follow-up inspections, due to the number of critical violations found during a regular inspection. Those inspections may also be considered for our reports. We recognize restaurants with two regular inspections in a row, with no critical violations, by awarding them an A.
