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 Washington Park, one failed location in Lakewood and a winner in northwest Denver.
Blackbird
The Washington Park restaurant scored 10 critical issues in September. Inspectors took pictures of several containers of food items -- including chicken, rice, cheese and beans -- that were thrown out for not being held at a cold enough temperature.
Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing Attachment Missing AttachmentOther mistakes include:
- A dish machine did not contain chlorine
- Brussels sprouts out of a box were not washed
- A chef touched a customer's tomatoes with bare hands
- No hot water in a restroom sink
The owner said a blown fuse in the electrical panel led to the temperature issue and they hired a company to service the dish machine.
The owner issued a statement that says, in part:
"The safety of our guests, many of whom are our neighbors, as well as the safety of our employees is very important to us. As you can see, all issues were corrected on site. In addition, our executive chef has brought in a new kitchen manager to make sure we can avoid things like this in the future."
Blackbird is at 305 S. Downing St., Denver.
Kelly’s Cajun Grill
A Jefferson County inspector found 11 serious issues in late September.
Violations include:
- No chlorine in sanitizer used to wipe surfaces
- Employee not using soap to wash hands
- No certified food safety manager
- Grease and food debris covering cookline floor
Corporate public relations sent a statement that reads, in part:
"We take the health and safety of our customers very seriously and have enacted an action plan with our franchisee in Colorado Mills to bring our establishment up to our standards and that of Jefferson County. We will continue to educate our franchisee and the team going forward with increased inspections and ongoing public health education."
Kelly’s Cajun Grill is inside Colorado Mills Mall in Lakewood.
Brooklyn’s Finest Pizza
The pizza parlor has now received an "A" in our Report Card three times.
“I hire a talented team. We have strong SOPs (standard operating procedures) in place, and we enforce those SOPs," said owner Carlo Conti. "If your staff is educated properly, took training and they are educated and they know what’s going on and stay on top of it, I think these achievements can be made."
Conti said he is happy to know the restaurant is serving a safe product.
"It's an unbelievable feeling," Conti said.
Brooklyn’s is across from Regis University at 5007 N. Lowell Blvd., Denver.
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.