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Here are the restaurants and other food facilities that Riverside County Department of Environmental Health inspectors temporarily shut down because of imminent health hazards between Sept. 2 and 8, 2022. If no reopening date is mentioned, the department had not listed that facility as reopened as of this publication.

Taqueria Tomateros, 9164 Magnolia Ave., Riverside

Ahi Poki Bowl, 12510 Day St., Moreno Valley

Hong Kong Express, 25030 Hancock Ave. Suite 104, Murrieta

Wetzel’s Pretzels, 1540 E. 2nd St., Beaumont

Little Caesars Pizza, 31703 Riverside Drive Suite 1, Lake Elsinore

Yoshiharu Ramen, 4910 Hamner Ave. Suite 150, Eastvale

Here are selected inspections at facilities that weren’t closed but had significant issues.

Better Be Donuts, at 12266 Perris Blvd. in Moreno Valley, was inspected Sept. 7 and received a failing grade of 76/C with one critical violation. The restaurant wasn’t properly keeping track of how long boba or croissants that contained cheese, meat, eggs and jalapenos had been left at room temperature. Among the 15 other violations, the inspector found one dead cockroach by a back door, neither employee there knew how to properly wash dishes, multiple pieces of equipment were in disrepair and surfaces throughout the facility needed cleaning. This was the restaurant’s second failed inspection since 2020.

Santa Fe Restaurant, at 68545 Ramon Road Suite C104 in Cathedral City, was inspected Sept. 7 and received a failing grade of 80/B with two critical violations. Food was at unsafe temperatures in two refrigerators that had been overfilled. Also, cooked food wasn’t being cooled down fast enough. Among the eight other violations the restaurant lost points for and six it didn’t, there were live and dead flies in the kitchen, a kitchen sink didn’t have soap, an employee restroom didn’t have hot water, dishes weren’t being washed correctly, dirty pots and pans had been put on the floor and the inside of the ice machine needed cleaning.

El Ranchito Taco Shop, at 39840 Los Alamos Road Suites 3&4 in Murrieta, was inspected Sept. 7 and received a failing grade of 81/B with seven violations, four of which were marked as critical. Some tacos, taquitos, flautas and fries were not being kept cold or hot enough. Cooked beans hadn’t been cooled down fast enough. Cooked pork hadn’t been reheated properly. And dishes had been washed without enough sanitizer.

Tooty Frooty, at 12270 Perris Blvd. in Moreno Valley, was inspected Sept. 7 and received a failing grade of 83/B with one critical violation. Some cut fruit was at an unsafe temperature in a display cooler that wasn’t keeping cold (it was repaired by the end of the inspection) and some fruit-based sauce had been left out overnight at room temperature. Among the 10 other violations, the inspector found three dead cockroaches (the facility called pest control right away), food was stored uncovered and some items for sale lacked proper labels.

The 7-11 at 301 County Line Drive in Calimesa was inspected Sept. 6 and received a failing grade of 84/B with nine violations, two of which were marked as critical. There was a dead mouse on a glue trap in a storage room and droppings on the floor behind a freezer. The store was told to contact pest control. Also, some chicken skewers weren’t being kept hot enough.

The Arco ampm at 74950 Gerald Ford Drive in Palm Desert was inspected Sept. 6 and received a failing grade of 86/B with 11 violations, none of which was marked as critical. Among them, the inspector found rodent droppings on the floor, including under the hot dog prep area, and the soda dispenser tubing had been gnawed on, causing it to leak. Also, there was black mold in the ice machine.

Banning Village Market, at 266 N. San Gorgonio Ave. in Banning, was inspected Sept. 2 in response to a complaint about, among other issues, expired food. It received a failing grade of 82/B with 13 violations, none of which was marked as critical. Among them, some expired cans of infant formula and severely dented cans of food were for sale, the inspector found several spiders and spiderwebs, an employee changed gloves without washing hands, the employee washing dishes didn’t know how long to sanitize them, and equipment and the floors needed cleaning. The market passed a follow-up inspection Sept. 6 with a score of 97/A. The spiders and dirty floors hadn’t been dealt with yet.

Valentino’s Pizza & Sports Bar, at 780 Ramona Expressway Suites F-G in Perris, was inspected Sept. 1 and received a failing grade of 69/C with one critical violation. Pizza toppings were at unsafe temperatures in a cooler and more than 50 pounds of food had to be discarded. Among the 20 other violations, the inspector found numerous live and dead fruit flies, two house flies and a spider, and told the restaurant to stop using unapproved pest control measures; a customer walked into the kitchen, which is not permitted under health code, opened a box of pizza and served himself a slice; a handwashing sink didn’t have soap or paper towels; there was red and gray residue in the ice machine (not touching ice) and old food residue on the meat slicer; the fryer was leaking oil; the majority of lights in the kitchen weren’t working; and a long list of areas needed cleaning and repairs. Also, three sinks didn’t have hot enough water, and the restaurant was told to self-close if the water temperature continued to decrease.

Mantra Indian Cuisine, at 27645 Jefferson Ave. Suite 106 in Temecula, which failed a Sept. 1 inspection with a score of 80/B and was closed because of overflowing wastewater, was permitted to reopen Sept. 2 after the grease interceptor was pumped out. It passed a follow-up with a score of 99/A.

This list is published online on Fridays. Any updates as restaurants are reopened will be included in next week’s list.

All food facilities in the county are routinely inspected to ensure they meet health codes. A facility loses four points for each critical violation — and may have to close if the violation can’t be corrected immediately — and one or two points for minor violations. An A grade (90 to 100 points) is passing. Grades of B (80 to 89 points) and C (79 or below) are failing and typically require the proprietor to make improvements and be re-inspected.

For more information on inspections of these or any restaurants in Riverside County, visit restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org. To submit a health complaint about a restaurant, go to www.rivcoeh.org/Complaint or call 888-722-4234 during business hours or 951-782-2968 after-hours.

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