LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A sign greeting customers at Tiabi Coffee & Waffle bar acknowledges "Life happens" and "Coffee helps."
Apparently not with roaches, though.
Inspectors went to the restaurant on Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road on Dec. 4 to follow up on a customer complaint about cockroaches.
"We don't ignore the fact of what happened because we're not going to lie about what happened, but I will tell you it was like this whole building issue," said Manager Tiffany Stiles.
The inspector counted more than 45 multi-generational German roaches throughout the facility, and roach feces on outlets and beneath shelving.
"There were traps around so obviously you guys knew you had roaches," said Darcy Spears. "The inspector even said there was one in the cold brew coffee filter."
"Oh really?" Stiles responded. "I don't know why there was... I don't know. I can't tell you."
Tiabi had records of monthly pest control but they were lacking specific information.
"They took accountability that they were our pest control company and they neglected a lot of areas," said Stiles, adding that the old building has had ongoing issues.
"It's very hard because there are already restrictions and then we had to shut down. It was really an issue of the back part of the building because there was some maintenance that was going on with the entire building and it caused us to have issues in the back of the store and we tried to maintain it but obviously, it got out of control."
Before reopening with an 8-demerit "A" grade on Dec. 10, Tiabi had to deep clean and get rid of grease, old food and buildup on floors and shelves.
Inspectors found sausage and chicken that had to be thrown out due to unsafe temperatures.
They also noted a lot of standing water at the back receiving door due to a broken drain line and a "very large amount of spider activity and nests in a back hallway."
Stiles blamed the property manager for that.
"So, we had to take it up with property management and we got that under control, and we got us under control."
And what's the plan moving forward?
"Definitely being more vigilant to the issues at hand and not letting things get swept under the rug," Stiles said.
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Repeat offender Las Vegas Superstore is back on Dirty Dining for the second time in just over two months.
This time, the seafood department at the market on Spring Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard was shut down for sewage on Dec. 2.
Inspectors saw food handlers rinsing and cutting fish for customer service while wastewater was actively overflowing onto the prep area floor.
The manager said it had been that way for weeks and he didn't know it was an imminent health hazard that required them to close.
Inspectors discovered foul-smelling floor sinks and drains throughout the front prep area that were clogged with excessive wet food debris and thick black liquid.
Floors near the deep fryers, prep area, live seafood tanks and display coolers were dirty with old soggy food, grease and trash.
There was excessive mold in the ice machine used to store raw fish and excessive black grease on ventilation hoods and fryer filters.
The manager said they "took care of everything when the inspector came" and the seafood department did reopen with a zero-demerit "A" grade on Dec. 3.
But it's worth noting what drew inspectors to the market in the first place.
A customer complained to the health district after buying a package of longan, a tropical fruit similar to lychee.
A sticker on the front of the package says it's from Thailand but the label on the back, which is partially scribbled out with a black marker, shows the product is actually from China.
The customer wrote, "they know a lot of people are boycotting food made in China because all their products are so cancerous. That's why they try to change the label illegally."
The inspector didn't find the product on the shelves but there was a box of it in the market's office.
The manager said it had come from a distributor with "portions of the labels redacted" and "once the manager was informed by the consumer, all packages were removed from sale" to return to the vendor.
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There was one other closure on Dec. 2 at Rum Runner on Desert Inn Road and McLeod Drive.
Inspectors found the restaurant had leased out its kitchen during COVID-19 to "The Pit," which was operating without a valid permit from the health district.
The person in charge said no food handlers had worked in the kitchen for three weeks but inspectors still found plenty of violations.
Employee food was intermingled with food for sale.
Dirty kitchen wares were caked with old food but stored as clean.
And there was evidence of smoking in the food prep area.
The kitchen at Rum Runner remains closed.
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And the owner of "The Pit" did not return a call for comment.
Click here to see the health report for Tiabi Coffee and Waffle Bar.
Click here to see the health report for Las Vegas Superstore.
Click here to see the health report for Rum Runner Desert Inn
