DENVER — Every week FOX31 looks at health inspections at every restaurants. It’s no secret the Denver metro area has some of the best breweries in the state. But, which brew pubs have failed their health inspection? This week we belly up to the bar for a look at local breweries.
Rock Bottom Brewery – Westminster
The Westminster location on Orchard Parkway failed our report card with 13 critical health code violations found during surprise inspections in April and July.
The mistakes included:
- No hot water
- Sinks draining on floor
- Cod, steak and meatballs held at the wrong temperature
- Employee put on gloves but didn’t wash their hands
Rock Bottom’s corporate office sent the following email:
“Rock Bottom is disappointed with the results of its most recent health inspection and apologizes for any concern this may have caused our guests. The inspection simply does not meet our standards … all critical issues raised in the report are in compliance as they were all addressed that same week including the leaky sink and hot water, which required a new part for the temp control unit. To ensure the continued compliance of this restaurant, all employees have been retrained on our standards as they relate to each violation…”
Stanley Beer Hall
A Tri-County Health inspector found ten critical violations in August.
The critical issues included:
- Employee touching food with bare hands
- Employee did not wash hands
- Utensils stored in standing water which promotes bacteria growth
- Ceiling above the food prep table was soiled with dust and debris
The beer hall sent the following comment in part:
“We are deeply committed to offering our guests a healthy and hospitable environment at all times, and we are in full compliance and good standing with Tri County Health. We immediately corrected all violations during our last inspection, and since then we have brought on an entirely new operating team.” Stanley Beer Hall is on Dallas Street in Aurora.
GVR Beer Garden
Cheers to GVR Beer Garden on North Argonne Street in Denver for two perfect inspections in a row.
General Manager Dejeon Jackson said, “Making sure the guys know the standards, keeping it clean, keeping it consistent. Attention to detail. I’m telling my guys if we ever miss the slightest part of a shift we will always think. So we really try to keep everything tidy and make sure we are rotating everything out. There’s no shortcuts or excuses for bad food. Keep the quality high and fresh.”
Salute to GVR for scoring an “A.”
“Good for the guests, good for the employees. My kids eat here. I feed my kids this food so I want to make sure. I feed my kids this food so it’s important,” said Jackson.
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 nine or ten 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.