Updated: Review of Downtown Santa Ana’s bar and restaurant health violations

59 thoughts on “Updated: Review of Downtown Santa Ana’s bar and restaurant health violations”

1. This really surprises me Art. Doesn’t Downtown Inc. pay for cleaners or is it the owners responsiblity?

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   • I was pretty shocked too. These violations are strictly amateur hour. I thought these people were pros.

     Downtown Inc supposedly cleans up the streets. Maybe they need to teach their members about basic food safety and hygiene too.

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     • Downtown inc pays to clean the barf off of the streets, not the barf inside the businesses

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2. Nobody cares. Give it up and for once in your life let the people enjoy an event in Downtown Santa Ana. Geez. EVERY restaurant in the city has had either minor or major violations. EVERY.

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   • Nobody cares until someone gets sick, or worse. Food safety is not a laughing matter! Folks who visit these establishments should be assured of at least basic hygiene!

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     • Like I said, every restaurant has violations. It is not rocket science, but look who’s making bank in the Downtown SA restaurant world. I have not read about anyone getting sick from one of the fine eateries you listed. Hmm. Rage on everyone and keep on serving up amazing food! At least they know how to not only cook but wash their hands!

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       • Did you even read the violations? Half these places have unclean bathrooms! Forget clean hands.

         Rule of thumb. If a restaurant’s bathroom is a mess don’t eat there.

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3. Thank you Art for this article. One of the things I love about San Diego and L.A. is that they have the A to F ratings for eateries. New Santa Ana is like 60 minutes, unafraid to tell it like it is. I’m sure your reporter was shocked when she took the photo above. Which restaurant is shown in the photo? One thing for sure, I bet all the downtown restaurants will be cleaner after this article and that is the good that can come from a story like this. It’s a win/win situation for the restaurnts and public health. I will keep eating in Downtown S.A. restaurants because some of them are really nice but I’ll stick my head in the restroom before I order!

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4. NotBrownInSA is absolutely right…this is simply Art Pedroza on some ridiculous crusade to smear non-hispanic restaurants in the downtown area. A simple 1-minute search of just one Mexican restaurant downtown yielded this;

   La Chiquita Restaurant

   Routine Inspection 3/6/2012

   Improper Warewashing/Inoperable Dishmachine
   Unsanitary Equipment/Utensil/Linen/Plumbing
   Lack of/Unsanitary/Condition Walls/Floors/Ceilings
   Unapproved Pesticides/Chemicals/Labeling
   Signs/Labels/Menu Board/Trans Fat-Missing/Incorrect/Lack of Food Handler Card

   Would you like me to search for more?

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   • Go ahead. This is an indictment of Downtown Inc and their restaurant association.

     Food safety matters and now we all know we need to be careful where we eat.

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     • How can it be an indictment of Downtown Inc. when these violations are common to virtually every restaurant downtown? Your conclusion is completely devoid of basic logic.

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       • Downtown Inc runs the restaurant association they all belong to. And they promised to clean up Downtown Santa Ana. I guess Cook is right. They only cleaned the streets, not the bars and restaurants. Fail!

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         • And every other restaurant in Downtown Santa Ana has not cleaned up their act. Fail!

         • You are just making my point for me. They ALL belong to Downtown Inc’s restaurant association! So malign them all you want, you are just agreeing with me. This mess belongs not only to the restaurants but to Downtown Inc. as well.

         • Yet you only focus on a group of non-Hispanic restaurants, and you make no mention of Downtown Inc. in your original post. You write a post that focuses on a particular group of restaurants and present it like you’re doing us all a benign public service. But there’s a hidden agenda, isn’t there?

           THAT is the part I find disingenuous and creepy.

         • I leave it to my readers to fill in the blanks. And they did that quite well. In fact you helped out by confirming how widespread the problem is. Thanks for that!

         • Downtown Inc., Downtown Inc., Downtown Inc. Really? You know it’s not their responsibility step in where the HEALTH DEPARTMENT RUNS THE SHOW, and make sure the restaurants are taking out the trash or checking the temperature of the freezer! If you crap your $2 generic brand tightly-whiteys, do you take them back to the gas station you purchased them from and tell the regional manager to clean your mess? Do you expect the regional manager to visit you on a regular basis to see if your in need of a wet-wipe or see that you can clean yourself? QUIT BLAMING DTI for your troubles. Go eat somewhere else then. No food poisoning reports have come in from the food event. BTW, the Restaurant Association meet and handle business on their own, they hold meetings on their own and are serving up AMAZING FOOD to all who know the difference between good food and the wannabes.

         • You really don’t think the public will blame Downtown Inc? Just wait to see what happens if someone gets sick.

           I guarantee that this will be discussed by DTI’s board this week. They now know they have a problem on their hands…

5. anon says:
   September 8, 2012 at 12:31 pm
   Yet you only focus on a group of non-Hispanic restaurants, and you make no mention of Downtown Inc. in your original post. You write a post that focuses on a particular group of restaurants and present it like you’re doing us all a benign public service. But there’s a hidden agenda.

   I am Hispanic decent most of my Hispanic decent friends eat at these mentioned restaurants. We are Americans. I am concerned of the health issue. Likewise would be concerned with other restaurants with similar health issues no matter who their primary client market is.

   Should not concentrate on the non- Hispanic restaurant label. Silly as many Hispanics eat there. Co-owners of Chapter One and Memphis are Hispanic .

   Lola Gaspar is a Spanish theme restaurant. Fabulous food eat there often but would feel more comfortable when they correct the problems. I would hesitate to patronize any restaurant with Heath issues.

   I believe the point here is that there is a entity ” Downtown Inc. ” who has taken the responsibility to market and promote this Artist Village restaurant group that should be concerned and pro-active in ensuring these restaurants Downtown Inc. propmotes have no public health issues.

   Downtown Inc is using public tax money to promote these restaurants other restaurants outside the DOWNTOWN PBID having similar health issues is irrelevant relative to the Downtown inc. Artist Village restaurant group relationship.

   Don’t get mad at Editor get mad at Downtown Inc.

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   • Well said Dr. Lomeli. On this we wholeheartedly agree!

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   • Dr. Lomeli, give me a break. These particular restaurants, and ONLY these restaurants, were mentioned because Art thinks they are promoted and hyped by people who want to gentrify Downtown. If that wasn’t the case, he would have mentioned other restaurants. Whether or not hispanics eat at these restaurants is irrelevant. Whether or not a couple co-owners are hispanic is irrelevant. Whether or not Lola Gaspar has a Spanish hint in SOME of their dishes is irrelevant.

     If this post was intended to be a commentary on the PBID and the health record of EVERY restaurant in Downtown, then why wasn’t it written that way? You’re making a case that Art never made in his original post. I’m commenting on the content of that post…you’re not.

     But go ahead…close your eyes to these attempts to sow racial discord.

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     • The only one to bring race into the equation was you.

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       • And I brought it in because you and your subtle race baiting need to be called out.

         Are you honestly going to call that list fair and balanced? LOL. Right. We all know how you operate…you’ve got too much of a history with this sort of thing.

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         • Like I said, go ahead and dig up more violations. You’re just reinforcing my main point. Food safety and hygiene aren’t priorities for Downtown Inc and their restaurant association. That clearly needs to change.

           Good luck at the Taste of Santa Ana. You’ll need it!

         • LOL. Can you show me where in your original post that whether or not food safety was a priority for Downtown Inc. was your “main point”?

           No, your “main point” was to bash restaurants that you think are promoted by people who want to gentrify Downtown and you would derive particular glee from seeing them fail.

           The failure of ANY restaurant in Santa Ana is bad for Santa Ana. But that’s not the post you wrote. You VERY specifically chose to bash certain restaurants.

           And we all know why.

         • Like Dr. Lomeli said, I’m not the problem, the restaurants are. Perhaps you would be happier if we said nothing and just waited for these restaurants to poison someone?

           I provided the link for my readers to look up other establishments. I’d they are curious they can do that. The bottom line is that we can not trust these bars and restaurants. Look them up before you go!

6. The point is that these restaurants are promoted by the PBID …..”..US THE PROPERTY OWNER TAX PAYERS.. The revelancy is that we are paying for their promotion and so have a different vested interest than you. Those that appose the PBID SEE IT SIMILARLY AS WE SUBSIDIZE THESE BUSINESSES then we will be more critical

   The readers made the DOWNTOWN INC. connection

   You see it irrelevant because health issue of all restaurants are generic ………….no cost to you. More importantly I guess is you are upset because you see an attack on what you feel valuable to you and others………..non-Hispanic restaurants. YOU MADE THE LABEL.

   Every example of why you say is irrevelant originally was relevant to you as you posted these restaurants are non- ahispanic in your view. That label was relevant to you. Get the other restaurants in the PBID on here and we will have the same issue.

   I am not closing my eyes to the racial discord. Read my post again. My point was to not deal with this as a a Hispanic / non- Hispanic issue.

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7. Who cares if it’s discussed? Next item on agenda! Zzzzzzzzz.

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   • Sorry chap. This post is still red hot. It is our second most read post today. This issue won’t be going away…

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     • Only because you are making an issue of it. I did not see a blog for Taste of Newport writing about the NB restaurants dirty bills of health, warning tasters of the current violations. I’m sure if a pedestrian tripped over a baby squirrel on 3rd and Main, you would blame DTI because they should be managing the squirrel population in the DTI district. Perhaps if DTI counted squirrel nests, enforced how far back the trees need to be from the public right-of-way to ensure Mr. Pedestrian does not hurt himself, that would be reasonable to you. Next item on the agenda please. Hey, while you’re at it, how about the horrible job Obama has done as president? Blame DTI.

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       • You better tread carefully. The biggest PBID cheerleader on the Council, David Benavides, is an Obama supporter. No PBID, no Downtown Inc.

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         • Not! Downtown Inc. came after the PBID. Get your facts straight. If PBID goes, sorry, DTI still exists. Yes, I know what I’m talking about. David and I are a good, no worries there. Gosh, my lunch is so yummy right now. These downtown Santa Ana eateries ate the bomb!

         • Ate the bomb? My point exactly.

         • No it’s not, you have no point. See you at the meeting.

         • Tell you what I am going to do. I am going to put a link to the OC Health Agency’s Restaurant page on our front page, so our readers can read up on what sort of health violations the Downtown Inc’s members are involved in, before they go visit their establishments…

         • If it helps you feel better about yourself. Thanks.

8. notbrowninsantaana says:
   September 9, 2012 at 12:52 pm
   Not! Downtown Inc. came after the PBID. Get your facts straight. If PBID goes, sorry, DTI still exists. Yes, I know what I’m talking about. David and I are a good, no worries there. Gosh, my lunch is so yummy right now. These downtown Santa Ana eateries ate the bomb!

   The point is that DTI is using property owners tax money to promote these restaurants. The issue is not DTI existing. They can and should but independent of PBID funding. This issue about health issue turns generic. Still a concern for those seeking clean healthy restaurants.

   DTI was formed to manage the PBID TAX . The majority property owners against the PBID ARGUE apposisiton due to its unconstitutional formation. We appose DTI due it’s by-laws that exclude the tax payers from elections to elect the Board of directors…… This is undemoratic and unconstitutional…………..IT IS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

   Eliminating the PBID corrects this undemocratic unconstitutional form of taxation. This will either dissolve DTI or can remain if it remains then will be representative for another group hopefully.

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   • DTI has no plans to just fizzle out. Nope. On with the show! DTI is doing a great job! Many, many supporters. Loving the events! Keep ’em coming. There is so much you do not know. Just keep reading the papers and talking to the small pile of upset tenants. People today don’t want to buy cheap crap, not even the people who sell it do. Catch up with the rest of the civilized world and live in the now. The program money is if not gone, soon will be y’all! Make your own way in the world. Want success. Diversity? How about we elect the right person for the job!?! The qualified candidate. Not because the quota for hiring a rainbow of colors governing body, board, committee has not been met. Run the show with the qualified people. Good job DTI. Proof of your success is in the revenue numbers and those numbers represent all businesses withing the DTI’s district.

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9. You avoid the issue of the DTI current structure. Unconstitutional and undemocratic TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

   Self funding DTI independent of the PBID has no argument from the majority property owners that currently fund DTI.

   Election of the board is not to not elect the right person for the job or to fill a quota

   It is about the by- law structure that does not allow the tax payers to elect the representatives of their choice. This is undemocratic , unconstitutional ………….TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

   It is UNAMERICAN. WHY DO YOU SUPPORT THIS FORM OF GOVERNMENT? Is it because you get a paycheck from DTI? How sad for you.

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10. A paycheck? No, I get a paycheck from Eric and his little magazine.

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11. Art, again you continue to bash Santa Ana. It’s embarrassing and libelous. I am ashamed you live here because you don’t root for the town as a whole, you root for one sector only in a thin veil of health-related issues. You KNOW you purposely attacked white owned businesses while leaving out the rest. You should be wearing a brown hood because it is no different. When you stand up for someone (which I applaud), you should not have to tear down another faction to do it. That is unethical, nasty, and racist. You KNOW what you are doing, but just can’t stop yourself from doing it the wrong way.

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    • Businesses work very hard to build trust with their clients. But when restaurants have records of repeated health violations that trust is sundered. Could I have mentioned more examples of this in my post? Sure. But why? What would be the point?

      I heard today that the Santa Ana Planning Agency looked at all the restaurants in the Downtown area and guess what? They are all a hot mess. This reflects very poorly on Downtown Inc. and their Restaurant Association.

      Don’t blame me for the inability of these businesses to run their operations in a clean fashion. This is not my problem. It is entirely theirs.

      Libel by the way refers to lies. There is NOTHING untrue in this post. I went out of my way to link to the source material. If anything you are libeling me.

      And for the record I am not bashing Santa Ana. I would never do that. I am however informing my readers that they need to be careful where they choose to eat.

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      • AGAIN!! THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION ARE A SEPARATE ENTITY FROM DOWNTOWN INC!! Why is that so difficult for you to grasp. They are responsible for their own house keeping. DTI could shake a finger at the owner’s of the restaurants and say, ‘bad, bad, bad, dirty, bad,’ but that would be it. No authority over the association. DTI cannot write anyone up for the behavior, no detention hall, no litter pick up on the sides of the freeways. The Orange County Health Department inspectors handle that. This conversation bores me now. Can’t teach an old blog/dog new tricks. The Grilled Cheese Spot sounds yummy! OPEN, OPEN, OPEN!

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        • Look at their last newsletter under “calendar,” and you will see that they list the restaurant association meetings. http://www.downtown-santaana.com/reports/2011_May_Newsletter.pdf

          Then look at their last Annual Report (dated 2009) at http://www.downtown-santaana.com/reports/2010_Annual.pdf, where you will find their promise to maintain a “clean and safe environment.”

          Finally, go back and look at those health and safety violations and tell me how these restaurants are maintaining “clean and safe environments.”

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          • Not the responsibility of Downtown Incorporated. Not my responsibility, not your responsibility, not my neighbor’s responsibility. Those big kids are responsible for themselves.

            I’m done with this blame it on DTI/PBID blog post. You just don’t get it. Everyone knows the truth, Downtown Santa Ana is so much better since all the artists came to town. The hate is just jealousy and envy. I guess the haters missed the train called, ‘the world we live in today,’ and caught the ‘slow boat to nowhere.’ Figures.

            That was entertaining. The End.

          • Please don’t drag the artists into this. It is not their fault these restaurants have hygiene problems.

      • You ARE bashing Santa Ana!!! The restaurants there work very hard to make a creative menu for people. You should be SUPPORTING the new places in Santa Ana instead of trying to find fault. And yet, you continue to find fault in the “new” restaurant owners and entrepeneurs there. Your true colors have been shown. You don’t care about Santa Ana, you only care about Latino businesses (who also had minor violations). That is racist any way you slice it. Favoring one race over another is the same as hating another race. Until you can see no color, you are a RACIST, pure and simple. You must support all of Santa Ana to be a good person, including new businesses, new restaurants, new faces, new races. Until you do that, the majority will always consider you as racist and biased, and out of control. You have become the fringe. You are now the enemy as a fringe member of the community who only sees brown in your downtown.

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        • Did you know that the Liberal OC has a post up that actually does bash our city? Apparently some homeless guy punched the Executive Director of the DPOC and the Liberal OC bloggers wasted no time in asserting that our city is crime-ridden and unsafe. Did you go over there and protest that post? Somehow I doubt it.

          I don’t care that the owners of the unsanitary establishments in question are white. That is not my peeve. My issue is that they are robbing the other business owners in Downtown Santa Ana and spending that money to market themselves. And there is the rub. Downtown Inc says they are using the PBID money to make Downtown Santa Ana safe. But just look at the long record of health violations at each of these restaurants and bars! It is simply horrific. What exactly is safe about these eateries?

          It is by the way rather presumptuous of you to call me a racist. Have you seen my picture? I am probably whiter than you! My ancestry is almost entirely European. And most of my friends are of many races. Just check out my Facebook account. I have friends from every race and in fact I spent the evening tonight with twenty very white Libertarians.

          I do not have to support every business in Santa Ana to be a good person. I will support those companies who give a damn about their customers. I will not support businesses that do not take safety seriously, period. Particularly when they should know better!

          If you buy a plate of cheap tacos you don’t expect much really but to get full. But when you plunk down more than twenty bucks for your dinner you ought to expect not just good taste but also good hygiene. Those eateries that overcharge but under-deliver are doomed.

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12. I had a first hand experience, only one downtown restaurant just one time, but it was nasty. Not too long ago, on a Sunday afternoon, I was in a popular downtown restaurant participating in an activity that made use of the closed kitchen. What I saw and the smell took every bit of my self control to keep me on task and not let myself become ill. I wanted to scream foul from the roof top!

    I fear local restaurants and food trucks are so caught up on being trendy that they have little regard for what MUST be the first item agenda for a food business, and that would be running a clean shop and healthy establishment!

    I may have missed Art’s point here but this seemed like a good place to share my observations and a concern about our local food businesses.

    For the record it is my wish that all our local restaurants and food trucks step up and become THE VERY BEST … the whole package, neat, clean and tasty!

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13. Not the responsibility of Downtown Incorporated. Not my responsibility, not your responsibility, not my neighbor’s responsibility. Those big kids are responsible for themselves.

    If so then allow them to promote themselves. DTI do not use PBID money to subsidize their businesses for their financial gain. I can keep this tax money to promote myself.

    what about you supporting DTI a group that sets it self up in a undemocratic unconstitutional manner noyt allowingn us the property owners who pay the PBID tax elect the bpoard of directors…….TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

    Does anyone believe this set up was not done with an agenda.

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14. Memphis is about as original as McDonalds.

    The sysco truck that deliver frozen chicken there makes it’s next stop at Applebee’s and then Chilli’s.

    At least Norms can be counted on for character (unlike Mayoral canidate David Benavides).

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15. Hey dude,

    Can you bring me a Del beef w/ extra cheese and sour cream to the debate/discussions tonight.

    I’m starvin’. I’ll go easy on your boi Benavides in return.

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16. This is quite pathetic, I have eaten at most of these places and had nothing but a great experience, I think you might want to find out what the agenda really is here.

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    • We reported exactly what we found on the Orange County Health Care Agency’s website. And we will be updating this post soon.

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17. some very good reasons to eat at home.

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    • Not! Yummy!

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      • That’s right. Unclean restaurants are not yummy!

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        • They were yummy tonight! Memphis! Yum! IZALCO! Awesome! Taquerias Guadalajara! Even more yum!

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18. They are supposed to be trained chefs! Food safety is the FIRST thing they reach u in school….WTF? These lazy managers and chefs should know better…some said that the writer of this article only focused on Non Hispanic operated restaurants…yes…that’s right because they are supposed to be TRAINED! And should know the basics! …glad someone put these hipster infested restaurants on blast..i say bring letter grades to OC

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