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 Denver, one failed location in Wheat Ridge and a winner in Denver.
The Hornet (F)
Denver inspectors cited the Baker neighborhood restaurant for nine critical health code violations in late October.
Health department pictures show mashed potatoes and shredded pork held at the wrong temperature. These food items were thrown out.
Other mistakes include:
- Fuel stacked next to napkins and containers
- Staff could not answer food safety questions
Hornet’s managing partner showed the FOX31 Problem Solvers the kitchen, which looked very clean. They told us everything was corrected.
The Hornet is located at 76 N. Broadway.
3 Agaves Mexican Grill (F)
The Wheat Ridge location failed with eight illness risk factors last month, including:
- Moldy vegetables
- Dishwasher was not sanitizing
- Raw beef, chicken and eggs were thrown out for being held at the wrong temperature
- Onions stored on floor
One of the owners gave us a tour of the kitchen and told us they are taking food safety classes.
“The temperatures were not what they are supposed to be. So, we correct that. We must go online and get our certification, so somebody knows how to have everything safe with the safe program. We try to do everything right. We do,” Owner Juan Gonzalez said.
You will find 3 Agaves at 4700 Kipling St in Wheat Ridge.
Noodles & Co. – Hampden and I-25 location (A)
A repeat winner and a Report Card favorite scored the “A”.
Noodles & Co. at 6300 E. Hampden Ave. marked two great inspections in a row.
Noodles & Co. Area Manager Brandon Quick said, “We have a very high focus on training as well as food safety standards, cleanliness standards. We empower all of our team members to incorporate those every day. We got some pretty detailed check list and routines we use to make sure we uphold those standards for us. Other than that, we just put it in the team member’s hands and let them do their thing.”
And Quick believes their hard work is paying off.
“I was super excited. We have had some turnover as far as management and we promoted within. We can continue that legacy of cleanliness standards and food safety practices, so it’s been awesome to see them to grow and get better every day,“ Quick said.
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.
