After 10-day shutdown, Leslie's Mexican hit with 5 more food code violations

Leslie's Mexican Cafe & Bakery in south Springfield has repeatedly struggled to comply with the Missouri food code recently, public records show.

Springfield-Greene County Health Department has suspended the restaurant's health permit twice in the past six months.

Following an April 23 inspection, during which the health department documented 18 serious food-code violations including multiple failures to observe basic hand-washing protocols, Leslie's restaurant received a 10-day suspension, according to a Monday statement from the health department. The department allowed the restaurant to reopen May 3.

Following an October inspection, the department suspended Leslie's for 24 hours, an inspection report shows.

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A representative for the restaurant said Monday that Leslie's is not aware of any illness caused by consuming its products and blamed rapid growth of the business over the past 8 years for its woes, stating that Leslie's is located in real estate designed for office use rather than restaurant infill.

In previous News-Leader reports, health department staff have cautioned that any given inspection represents a "snapshot" of conditions present in a restaurant on one day.

Leslie's — which operates a restaurant along with a retail operation that includes a bakery and a meat market — has had multiple problematic inspections, records show.

Earlier this month, the establishment at 1915 S. Glenstone Ave. was still having trouble five days after the health department allowed it to reopen its restaurant.

In its latest food inspection, conducted May 8, Leslie's scored five serious code violations. Serious violations are dubbed "priority" by the health department, meaning they are "critical items (that) can have a direct impact on the safety of the food."

All five of the priority violations were repeat occurrences, according to the May 8 inspection report.

Three of the most recent violations ran afoul of a "Risk Control Plan" that Leslie's is supposed to follow.

A Risk Control Plan is one of several outreach and education strategies the health department uses to help Greene County restaurants comply with Missouri's food-safety code.

MORE: Greene County restaurant inspections

The health department does online and in-person training, including "food schools" conducted on-site by health department staff, according to previous reporting by the News-Leader.

The 18 violations documented April 23 fell into three broad "CDC risk factors," according to a statement from the health department:

1. Various temperature violations in the kitchen coolers and restaurant buffet were out of standard temperature range. Food items outside of standard temperature range were discarded to eliminate risk. 2. Utensils (knives, pans, baking pans) were found not clean in the kitchen area with live and dead cockroaches found on food surfaces where bakeware is stored. Utensils were cleaned and standard operating procedures were implemented by the restaurateur to ensure clean utensils. 3. Poor employee health and hygiene was observed a. not washing hands long enough and without soap b. handling food that is ready to eat with bare hands c. food workers eating in the kitchen around food preparation

The News-Leader published a weekly batch of food inspection reports on April 27, but due to what appears to have been a technology error, the News-Leader did not receive the Leslie's report of April 23 at the same time as the rest of that week's reports.

The report was provided by the health department on Monday, the day a reporter requested it.

In an inspection conducted Sept. 1, Leslie's bakery/retail operation scored eight serious violations, four of which were marked as repeat occurrences by the health inspector.

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At that time, Leslie's bakery/retail and restaurant operations were both placed on a "Risk Control Plan" by the health department. All of its employees were required to complete online training by 2 p.m. Sept. 5, the inspection report states.

The report also shows that the department placed Leslie's on notice that further issues "will result" in a 24-hour suspension of its health permit.

A week later, records show, Leslie's bakery/retail outfit passed a reinspection with flying colors: zero violations.

But by Oct. 16, that sterling record was tarnished — at least in the restaurant/meat portion of Leslie's business, records show.

After spending six weeks on a Risk Control Plan, Leslie's restaurant/meat outfit scored six more serious violations.

Those included problems with food temperatures, dirty kitchen implements and bare-handed contact with food, according to the Oct. 16 report.

The health department's inspector wrote, "Food establishment's health permit suspended for a minimum of 24 hours due to repeat priority violations and failure to meet requirements outlined in Risk Control Plan put in place after last inspection on Sept. 1."

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On Monday the News-Leader tried to reach Leslie's with multiple phone calls that were met with busy signals, but made contact with the restaurant via social media.

Noting that Leslie's "has grown by leaps and bounds" in 8 years of business, a restaurant representative (who did not respond when the News-Leader asked to identify that person) said via Facebook Messenger, "We have a bakery that was not shut down. We also have a meat market and grocery store that count separately and were allowed to be open while working on the other issue, namely electrical and space limitations that have come with such extreme growth."

That person added, "We are in an older building which was not designed for restaurant nor high capacity, rather for offices so it has been challenging. To our knowledge, there have been no illnesses reported and we have continued doing our best to fulfill both our customers' needs and be in compliance with the health department."

In its Monday statement, the health department said, "Leslie's Restaurant will continue to be on a Risk Control Plan, where they will be monitored regularly through risk control inspections."

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Some recent health inspections of Leslie's Mexican Cafe & Bakery

This is the raw text of five health inspection reports. Springfield-Greene County Health Department food inspection reports are published weekly by the News-Leader. Due to what appears to be a technology error, the April 23 inspection detailed below was not received by the News-Leader until May 14. Other health inspections conducted April 23 were published by the News-Leader on April 27, as is the usual practice for the newspaper.

May 8

LESLIE'S BAKERY-RESTAURANT/MEAT/TORTILLA PRODUCTION, 1915 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Reinspection. Priority Violations Found: 5.

Observed: large piece of raw beef temped 49F in walk-in cooler; cooked sausage temped 50F in prep cooler in kitchen. Required: PHFs shall cold hold at 41F or below. Meat voluntarily discarded. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan violation.

Observed: various items on both cold holding buffet units in restaurant temped above 41F (bread pudding 61F, flan 55F, sour cream 50F, shredded lettuce 50F). Required: PHFs shall cold hold at 41F or below. Food voluntarily discarded. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan violation.

Observed: sanitizer residue at 3-comp sink, cooks' sanitizer buckets and servers' sanitizer buckets tested 0ppm for chlorine. Required: chlorine sanitizer shall test 50-100ppm. Repeat priority violation.

Observed: improper employee drinks in both kitchen and servers' areas. Required: employee drinks shall have a lid and straw. Repeat priority violation.

Observed: carnitas not cooled to 70F or below within two hours. Required: PHFs shall be cooled from 135F to 70F in the first two hours of the cooling process. Food voluntarily discarded. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan Violation.

April 23

LESLIE'S BAKERY-RESTAURANT/MEAT/TORTILLA, 1913 S. Glenstone Ave. Inspection. Anabel was on site during inspection; Esteban is Kitchen Manager and was on site as well. Leslie, Anabel's daughter translated during inspection. Food establishment health permit suspended for at least 24 hours due to repeat priority violations and failure to meet requirements set forth in Risk Control Plan implemented 6 months ago. Formal meeting with owner to take place on Tuesday, April 24, at Springfield-Greene County Health Department to determine enforcement actions as well as requisites for reinstatement of Health Permit. Priority Violations Found: 18

Observed: food employee washed hands at 3-comp sink without benefit of using any soap. Required: food employee shall wash hands with cleaning agent at least 20 seconds. Education given; hands properly washed at hand sink. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan violation.

Observed: server did not scrub with soap at least 10-15 seconds when washing hands at 3-comp sink prior to handling food. Required: hands shall be vigorously scrubbed with soap at least 10-15 seconds for proper hand washing. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan violation.

Observed: food employee did not wash hands prior to putting on gloves to handle food. Required: food employees shall properly wash hands prior to donning gloves to work with food. Education given; hands washed. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan violation.

Observed: improper employee drinks in kitchen; employee eating in kitchen. Required: employee drinks require lid and straw; employees shall not eat in kitchen or prep areas. Drinks and food voluntarily discarded. Repeat priority violation.

Observed: food employee observed handling food in kitchen with bare hands. Required: food employees shall handle food with gloves after proper washing. Corrected by voluntarily discarding food. Repeat priority violation.

Observed: ready to eat lime cut with bare hands by server in restaurant. Required: ready to eat foods shall be handled with clean, gloved hands or utensil. Lime discarded; hands washed and gloves donned to cut new lime. Repeat priority violation.

Observed: raw chicken found stored over raw beef in walk-in cooler. Required: raw meats shall be stored according to final internal cooking temp to prevent cross contamination. Corrected by moving chicken to below beef.

Observed: dessert items on top of buffet open to contamination due to lack of sneeze guard. Required: sneeze guards shall be utilized for open foods to protect from contamination.

Observed: refried beans, cooked that day, not properly cooled to 70F within 2 hours (four of six tubs temped between 73-83F; two pans temped below 70F). Required: PHFs shall be cooled from 135F to 70F in 2 hours, then from 70F to 41F in next 4 hours. Product that temped above 70F was voluntarily discarded; product that temped below 70F was placed into walk-in cooler. Repeat priority violation;

Observed: large primal cut of pork not temping below 41F during improper thawing at 3-comp sink (pork temped 47F). Required: PHFs shall be kept below 41F during thawing process. Corrected on site by voluntarily discarding product. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan violation.

Observed: PHFs not cold holding at 41F or below in kitchen prep cooler (queso 50F, cooked beef 44F, sour cream 57F). Required: PHFs shall cold hold at 41F or below. Product voluntarily discarded; education given about load limits. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan Violation.

Observed: potentially hazardous foods found not cold holding at 41F or below in "drink cooler" in servers' area (cantaloupe 52F, watermelon 63F); potentially hazardous foods not cold-holding at 41F or below at buffet (rice pudding 57F, watermelon 51F-56F, bread pudding 41F-46F). Required: PHFs shall cold hold at 41F or below. Product voluntarily discarded. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control (Editor's note: The text for this item ends here.)

Observed: no chlorine sanitizer residue in sanitzer buckets in kitchen and servers' area. Required: chlorine sanitizer shall test at least 50-100ppm at all times.

Observed: sanitizer at 3-comp sink tested over 200ppm chlorine. Required: chlorine sanitizer shall test 50-100ppm. Sanitizer drained; education given; sanitizer changed out to test 50-100ppm.

Observed: numerous food contact surfaces throughout kitchen (knives, pans, baking pans) found not clean. Required: food contact surfaces shall be clean to sight and touch. Items placed into dish washing. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan violation.

Observed: live and dead cockroaches observed on clean food contact surfaces where clean bakeware is stored. Required: pest presence shall be minimized and not found on food contact surfaces.

Observed: pozole soup not hot holding at 135F or above at buffet (product temped 114F-125F). Required: PHFs shall hot hold at 135F or above. Repeat priority violation; Risk Control Plan violation.

Observed: open employee cold medicine found on same shelf as clean plates. Required: employee medications shall be stored in an area away from any food, food containers, etc. Education given; corrected by removing medication. Repeat priority violation.

Nonpriority Violations Found: 5

Observed: soda bag in box, boxes of napkins and lids found stored on floor on restaurant side of establishment. Required: food, food containers shall be stored at least 6" off of floor.

Observed: two primal cuts of pork found improperly thawing in standing water in 3-comp sink. Required: PHFs shall be thawed under cold running water (70F or less), in cooler or part of cooking process. Corrected by voluntarily discarding one chub of meat that temped above 41F; other chub temped <41F and placed into cooler.

Observed: dishes being washed manually in 3-comp sink without benefit of being rinsed prior to sanitizing. Required: washed utensils and equipment shall be rinsed so that abrasives and cleaning chemicals are removed or diluted through the use of water. Education given.

Observed: no soap at hand sink for servers in restaurant. Required: hand sinks shall be stocked with soap at all times.

Observed: no disposable towels at kitchen and meat hand sinks. Required: hand sinks shall be stocked with paper towels at all times.

Oct. 16, 2017

LESLIE'S BAKERY- RESTAURANT & MEAT, 1915 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Inspection. Food establishment's health permit suspended for a minimum of 24 hours due to repeat priority violations and failure to meet requirements outlined in Risk Control Plan put in place after last inspection on Sept. 1. Priority Violations Found: 6.

Observed: potentially hazardous foods not cold-holding at 41F or below in walk-in cooler. Required: PHFs shall cold-hold at 41F or below. All PHFs in walk-in cooler voluntarily discarded; repairs had been called for the day prior. Repeat priority violation.

Observed: pan of refried beans, cooked day prior, not cooled to 41F or below; pan of pollo tomal, cooked two days prior, not cooled to 41F or below. Required: PHFs shall be cooled from 135F to 70F in the first two hours, then from 70F to 41F in the next four hours. Foods voluntarily discarded. Repeat priority violation.

Observed: PHFs not properly reheated to 165F for hot holding. Required: PHFs that have gone through the cooling process shall be reheated to 165F prior to being placed into hot holding. PHFs reheated to 165F.

Observed: slicer, salsa containers, knives, spatulas, in clean storage, found not clean. Required: food-contact surfaces shall be clean to sight and touch. Repeat priority violation.

Observed: eye drops found stored on same shelf as food containers. Required: employee medicine shall be stored away from food containers, etc.

Observed: employee placed ready-to-eat tortilla chips in basket with bare hands Required: ready-to-eat foods shall be handled with hands that have been washed and with gloves on.

Nonpriority Violations Found: 2

Observed: no disposable towels at hand sink in meat area. Required: disposable hand towels shall be supplied at all hand sinks

Observed: PHFs not cooled with proper methods. Required: PHFs shall be cooled without lids, plastic wrap, deep pans, etc.

Sept. 8, 2017

LESLIE'S BAKERY- RESTAURANT & MEAT, 1915 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Reinspection. All violations corrected. Establishment is on a Risk Control Plan for hand washing, food-contact surfaces, cooling, date-marking and holding temperatures. Random compliance checks will take place to ensure consistent adherence to plan. Priority Violations Found: 0. Nonpriority Violations Found: 0.

LESLIE'S BAKERY-BAKERY AND RETAIL, 1915 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Reinspection. All violations corrected. Establishment placed on a Risk Control Plan for food-contact surfaces, holding temperatures and date-marking. Priority Violations Found: 0. Nonpriority Violations Found: 0.

Sept. 1, 2017

LESLIE'S BAKERY- BAKERY AND RETAIL, 1915 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Inspection. Establishment given notification that failure to meet Risk Control Plan and/or future repeat violations in inspections will result in 24-hour suspension of Health Permit. All employees required to take online food safety training and present completion certificates at meeting at 2 p.m. on September 5. Both sections of establishment (Restaurant/Meat and Bakery/Retail) are being placed on a Risk Control Plan. Priority Violations Found: 8

Observed: raw shell eggs not cold-holding at 41F or below in walk-in cooler Required: potentially hazardous foods shall be cold-held at 41F or below. Eggs voluntarily discarded. Correct by September 5. REPEAT PRIORITY VIOLATION.

Observed: bags of ready-to-eat fruit filling, jars of fruit jelly, opened container of cream cheese found with mold on them Required: foods that are adulterated shall be immediately discarded and not left in service. Foods discarded.

Observed: employee found eating in bakery area; improper employee drink on prep table Required: employees shall eat outside of prep/kitchen areas; employee drinks shall have a lid and straw. Food and drink discarded. REPEAT PRIORITY VIOLATION.

Observed: spatula, bowls, in clean storage, found not clean Required: food contact surfaces shall be clean to sight and touch. Items placed into dish washing. REPEAT PRIORITY VIOLATION.

Observed: unclean fly swatter found stored on cookie tray Required: equipment and utensils shall be cleaned at any time contamination may have occurred. Fly swatter moved to proper storage area; pan placed into dishwashing.

Observed: cheesecake portions, in retail reach-in sales case, found outdated (discard date of 8.28) Required: potentially hazardous foods shall be disposed of on the indicated discard date.

Observed: pre-portioned potentially hazardous foods not date-marked in reach-in sales case Required: potentially hazardous foods shall bear a 7-day discard date. REPEAT PRIORITY VIOLATION.

Observed: severely dented can found in bakery equipment storage Required: cans of food shall be undented and intact. Correct by September 5.

Nonpriority Violations Found: 2