LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Cockroaches don't discern the difference between a high-end hotel and a small shop.
This time, the creepy crawlers came home to roost in the production kitchen at the Palazzo hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
It was shut down on Sept. 23 for the imminent health hazard of a multi-generational cockroach infestation after inspectors found bugs congregating in a dirty floor drain.
Inspectors say pest control personnel arrived on-site during the inspection but there “was no indication of when the last pest control service occurred.”
Conditions inviting to pests included about an inch of old food/liquid residue at the bottom of the floor drain filter.
Palazzo was given a detailed plan of action including deep cleaning all floor drains, sealing holes in walls and deep cleaning all possibly affected equipment including utensils, cookware, tables, food containers and fryers.
All single-use open items had to be thrown away and they were ordered to put potatoes, onions and other open bulk food items into “impermeable containers.”
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas sent the following statement:
“During a routine inspection, the floor drain filters of one of our banquet kitchens were identified with a flaw that wasn’t allowing adequate draining, resulting in pest activity being observed in one drain. Our team took immediate action to fix the drain filters, and follow all re-inspection protocols identified by the SNHD. Subsequent re-inspection by the SNHD restored the A grade.”
********************
Los Arcos Birrieria and Taco Shop on Maryland Parkway and St. Louis Avenue was shut down on Sept. 23 for another kind of infestation.
Instead of six legs, these pests have four... and fur.
A customer filed a complaint with the Health District saying, “They have rats in the kitchen. I was there because my son ordered some food, but when I walked to the restroom, I saw a rat walking into the kitchen.”
The inspector following up on the complaint found rodent droppings and pest harborage conditions in the equipment storage area.
There were more rodent droppings under the clean dish rack and under equipment near the restrooms.
Los Arcos was subsequently shut down for a rodent infestation.
It also got 31 demerits.
Violations included food that had to be thrown out due to improper cooling and shelves in the walk-in cooler, equipment and storage containers that were dirty with old food.
Beef was left to thaw at room temperature and some of it was stored in dirty cardboard boxes on the floor.
A container of salsa and another of beef oil were picked up off the floor and put directly onto the prep counter.
Rice, salsa and cooked meats were stored uncovered and subject to potential contamination.
In-use tongs were stored in dirty water.
The make table was nothing short of a hot mess with dirty utensils and old flood splattered all over the place, and there were holes and water damage in the ceiling.
Los Arcos was re-inspected on Sept. 24 and received a 9-demerit "A" grade.
Owner Oscar Chavira sent the following statement:
“First of all, we want to let our appreciated customers know that we resolved this issue as fast as we knew it existed. We requested our pest control company to get this under control as soon as possible and they showed up the same day. We worked with them following their specifications and we opened the next day with an ‘A’ grade Health Department classification.
"Unfortunately, we experienced this situation, but we want to let our customers know this problem was resolved the same day of inspection. We never noticed there was this problem in our restaurant because we clean every day and keep our food correctly and safe from contamination. The issue was in our little storage room by one back door that is not usually in use, and we don’t usually have contact with this room. Normally, we use this room for building tools and any kitchen utensils or products in storage at this location. Our kitchen was all the time clean and safe from contamination. This problem was in a back room only.
"Again, we want to thank our appreciated customers and let them know our restaurant is open and serving our delicious food that our customers enjoy every time they come to our restaurant!”
Click here to see the health report for Los Arcos Birrieria & Taco Shop.
Click here to see the complaint for Los Arcos Birrieria & Taco Shop.
Click here to see the health report for Palazzo Banquet Kitchen.
