La Placita corrects health code violations

Earlier this month, the Pima County Health Department wrote up La Placita Bar & Grill with several critical violations, causing the popular Green Valley restaurant to operate under a provisional license until the problems were corrected.

The Mexican food restaurant, just east of the Green Valley Mall at 99 W Esperanza Blvd., was cited with six critical violations on Aug. 11. Five critical violations is the cut-off before a restaurant is given a provisional license.

The county inspector returned on Aug. 22 and wrote in his report that all of the critical violations had been corrected, along with most of the non-criticals, giving the restaurant a passing grade.

In the first report, the county inspector reported seeing two cooks making a chicken burrito and a hamburger with their bare hands; ready-to-eat, refrigerated foods were found in containers without expiration dates; cooked beef was stored below the required temperature; and pans and utensils “stored as clean” had food debris on them.

La Placita also received 19 non-critical violations, which include broken or missing ceiling panels, a leaking automatic dishwasher and a black, mold-like substance on the inside of an ice machine.

The last nine inspections, which span from 2003-2007, resulted in a “Good” rating for the restaurant.

The manager says La Placita will be closed Monday though Wednesday while new floor tiling is installed in the kitchen.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726