Summer Kickoff or Cooler Malfunction? June 15–21 in Review
Louisville, the solstice brought sunshine, patio season, and apparently a lot of stress-tested walk-in coolers. From Butchertown to the Highlands, our inspectors were out in force this week making sure your favorite haunts are keeping things food-safe, not just fork-worthy. Let's dig in.
LouVUE by the Numbers
- Total inspections: 138
- Regular inspections: 123
- Follow-ups: 11
- Other: 4
A Quick Refresher on How the Grades Work in the Ville
- Grade A (green): A passing grade indicating a generally safe facility. Score of 85–100 with no priority violations — serious issues most likely to cause foodborne illness, such as improper food holding temperatures.
- Grade B (blue): Facility is "under review" while health officials work with them to pass future routine inspections. Issued after failing two routine inspections in a row, or automatically during a follow-up inspection if the facility had to close because of an imminent health hazard (regardless of prior grades). Patrons should be mindful.
- Grade C (red): Facility has failed its inspection. Issued for any of these reasons: (1) one or more priority violations, such as poor hygienic practices, lack of hot/cold water, or improper sanitizing — even with a score as high as 98; (2) score below 85 due to a high number of non-priority violations; or (3) an imminent health hazard requiring closure (e.g., infestation, loss of electricity or water). These are serious and require a follow-up within 7–10 days.
- Priority violations: High risk for foodborne illness. Even one is enough to drop a place to a C.
Second Servings: Redemption Arcs and One Repeat Offender
Most of this week's follow-ups earned their way back into good graces:
- Crave Louisville — C → A (99). Craving forgiveness granted.
- Queen of Sheba — C → A (100). A royal comeback.
- Ichiban — C → A (100). Number one again.
- Classico Takeout — C → A (100). Classic redemption.
- Wendy's #264 — C → A (99).
- Subway — C → A (95). Footlong recovery.
- Mi Preferida #3 — C → A (100).
- La Sierra Tarasca 2 — C → A (100) (this one showed up twice on the books — consistency counts!).
- St. Mary's Center Inc — C → B (100). Still under watch despite the perfect score, per the closure-related B rule.
The one that didn't bounce back: Wendy's #234 on Bardstown Road stayed a C (90) on follow-up — same cooler issues we'll get into below. Two strikes on the same problem means inspectors will be watching closely.
Cautionary Cuisine: This Week's Cold Case Files
Temperature control was the theme of the week — TCS foods (that's Time/Temperature Control for Safety, think dairy, deli meat, cut produce) kept showing up in the danger zone.
Mashup Barcelona Bistro Express — 750 E Jefferson St — Score: 92
- Person in charge couldn't demonstrate basic food safety knowledge
- Condiments and dressings held at 72°F instead of 41°F or below (discarded)
- Deli meats and cooked meats sitting in the cooler with no date labels — meaning no one could tell if they were safe to serve
Mashup Tommy's Pizza — 750 E Jefferson St — Score: 96
- TCS foods found at 46–52°F, well above the safe 41°F threshold (discarded)
Book & Bourbon Southern Kitchen — 600 Terminal Dr — Score: 94
- Insects spotted in the dishwashing area
Wendy's #234 — 1108 Bardstown Rd — Score: 90
- Employee washed hands after handling raw hamburger, but didn't wash long enough or use a barrier to shut off the faucet — undoing the whole point of the wash
- Cheese at 52°F, shredded lettuce at 48°F, cut tomatoes at 50°F — all discarded, cooler taken offline until repaired
Eastern Star Nursing Home — 923 Eastern Star Ct — Score: 93
- No certified food safety manager present, and PIC wasn't fulfilling required duties
- Dishes came out of the dish machine without proper sanitizing
The Check, Please: Keep Your Cool, Louisville
If there's a lesson this week, it's that even great scores can tumble over one bad cooler reading. Shoutout to our top scorers — Joyful Eats, Bamba Eggroll Company, Lil Cheezers #2, and the Mashup Food Hall's 721 Minit It Herb & Juice Bar and Cold Smoke Bagels — all hit a perfect 100. As always, check your favorite spot's full history on LouVUE before you dine, and we'll see you next week with more from the kitchens of the Ville.