A lack of hot water, backed-up sewage and fire damage were among the factors that prompted the temporary closure of 10 restaurants and food businesses across Fresno County after failed health inspections in January.
Most of the closures only lasted a day or two, but three of the businesses remained closed this week until the problems cited by Fresno County health inspectors are resolved. Eight of the businesses are in Fresno, along with one in Huron and one in Parlier.
At Tacos La Piedad, on Hughes Avenue in central Fresno, a Jan. 12 inspection revealed that the restaurant was going through a kitchen remodel, but in the meantime using a pair of outdoor cooktops hooked up to propane tanks, and a fire pit was being used under a makeshift tent in the parking lot. Food preparation was happening in the kitchen despite portions of the ceiling missing. An inspector also found food being stored alongside chemicals.
“This facility is ordered to close as restaurant is not in a physical condition conducive to maintaining food safety,” a health inspector wrote in the report.