Almanza’s restaurant at 2502 8th Avenue in Garden City, Colorado has been closed bye the Board of Weld County Commissioners. The restaurant will remain closed until it fixes “repeated health code violations.” The Weld County Department of Public Health requested the closure.
Chairwoman of the Board, Barbara Kirkmeyer, told the Greeley Tribune that the restaurant needs to hire a food safety consultant, train all staff in food safety, and require the manager and owner to get food protection manager certification.
The restaurant has had issues with inspections in the past. The most recent inspection garnered nine critical and two non-critical health code violations. The restaurant was closed twice in 2017 because the sinks in the women’s restrooms and the kitchen were not working properly.
According to Weld County inspection reports, the facility received a Marginal report on August 30, 21018. Critical violations included cross-contamination, since raw shrimp and beef were stored on top of other foods that may have been eaten uncooked (since corrected). Employees were not able to demonstrate knowledge of food safety practices.
In addition, cold foods were held at 45°F, which is inside the danger zone of 450°F to 140°F (since corrected). Both sliding doors of the fridge were open when inspectors arrived at the facility.
An employee was observed cutting avocados and tapping the knife on the inside of a trash can to remove debris while working (since corrected). Inspectors also found evidence of pests, more specifically, live roaches under the sink and around the ice machine.
A container of auto polish was stored on a shelf above clean food containers (since corrected). A spray bottle containing bleach did not have a label (since corrected).
Non-critical violations included boxes of meat thawing at room temperature (since corrected), a stand-up cooler at 50°F without a thermometer (since corrected), and a clogged floor drain.
