From neighborhood taco shops to high-profile restaurants, markets, hotels, event venues and even the city’s top tourist destinations, San Diego County’s health inspectors were busy throughout 2025, closing and downgrading more than 300 area food facilities and restaurants. Week after week, temporary closures and downgraded inspection grades revealed a persistent set of food-safety failures playing out across the region, many of them involving the same recurring hazards.
Our comprehensive year-end report compiles every restaurant and food facility in San Diego County that was either ordered to temporarily close or received a downgraded inspection grade during 2025. Drawing from official County Department of Environmental Health and Quality records, the list spans January through December and offers a full snapshot of enforcement activity across restaurants, bars, cafés, grocery stores, mobile vendors, hotels, and institutional kitchens.
A review of the data shows clear patterns. Vermin-related violations appeared repeatedly and overwhelmingly dominated closure orders, often paired with failures in vermin-proofing, sanitation, food storage, plumbing, or basic facility maintenance. Other common triggers included improper food temperatures, lack of hot or cold running water, sewage disposal issues, and inadequate handwashing facilities – all conditions that inspectors classify as posing an immediate risk to public health…