By Sara Beth Williams—
A local restaurant on Greenback Lane suffered several failed inspections since March, according to Sacramento County Environmental Management Department documentation. The restaurant is now currently open for business.
From March through June, Black Angus Steakhouse on Greenback Lane was found to be in violation of multiple repetitive health and safety issues, according to County inspection documents.
On March 2, Sacramento County inspectors ordered the restaurant at 7925 Greenback Ln. in Citrus Heights to “immediately close,” citing multiple health violations. Inspectors suspended the restaurant’s health permit and issued a red placard after documenting what the county described as a “vermin infestation.”
According to the inspection report, inspectors observed approximately 12 rodent feces under the steam table at the cook’s line, six rodent feces under the dishwasher drain board, seven rodent feces in liquor storage and five rodent feces in disposable-item storage.
Inspectors also documented eight dead or dying cockroaches in various life cycles in a glue trap in the liquor-storage area.
The report contained other violations, including food-temperature problems, raw beef stored improperly above other foods, and significant cleanliness issues involving grease, slime, old food debris and trash.
The restaurant was reinspected the following day, March 3, and received a green placard, indicating it had passed the follow-up inspection. A subsequent 2-week inspection was scheduled, according to records, to ensure the facility “remained free of vermin infestation.”
However, the restaurant was again temporarily closed for two days following another June 23 inspection.
During the June 23 inspection, county health inspectors found 31 German and American cockroaches throughout the facility, including cockroaches found under a prep sink, under the dishwasher drain board and in a hallway near the employee women’s restroom.
The inspection resulted in another red placard and 12 total violations. Inspectors also documented three expired California Food Handler cards and noted that no certified Food Safety Manager certificate was available for review at the time of the inspection.
This was a repeat violation that Sacramento County had requested the restaurant correct during a Jan. 12 inspection.
In addition, inspectors found raw beef stored above raw shrimp in a four-door reach-in refrigerator, another repeat violation that the County has asked to be corrected in both January and in March.
The restaurant was reinspected June 24, where inspectors issued another red placard after finding continued cockroach activity, according to county inspection records.
A third inspection on June 25 found that the restaurant actively engaged in pest control services with a pest control company. Seeing no new vermin activity, the restaurant was permitted to reopen.
The June inspections came less than four months after the restaurant’s closure in March, when inspectors had documented both rodent droppings and cockroach activity at the restaurant.
No other inspections at this restaurant have been conducted since June 25 according to the Sacramento County Environmental Management Department. An email from The Sentinel sent to both media relations and guest relations for Black Angus requesting comment on current pest control measures was not returned this week.
Black Angus is open for business.
A red placard indicates an imminent danger to public health and safety and suspends an establishment’s health permit until the violations are corrected. According to Sacramento County’s inspection guidance, major vermin contamination can result in a red placard.
A yellow placard can also be issued, indicating that the facility has violations that require correction, but the violations do not warrant any imminent danger or closure of the restaurant.
A green placard indicates that a restaurant has passed an inspection.
This report was researched, fact-checked, and written in response to a news tip submitted to our newsroom. Have a local news tip you want us to look into? Submit yours here.
