Local restaurant’s closure reversed by health department

Jenna Bordelon

HILLSIDE DISTRICT -- Facing a mandatory county restaurant ranking

ordinance in effect in the city since Nov. 4, one local eatery has had

trouble making the grade.

La Bamba Island Cuisine at 2600 N. Glenoaks Blvd. has been closed for

vermin infestation three times in the past three years.

On Nov. 9, county inspectors went in on an owner-initiated inspection,

paid for by La Bamba in the hopes of getting a good grade.

The restaurant received a “B,” which owner Gladys Poorman said was a

big step in the right direction. Poorman said she has been unable to

follow the inspections as closely as she would have liked, due to a death

in her immediate family.

“We’ve been here 10 years and we hope to be here another 10, and our

goal is to be an ‘A’ establishment,” she said.

When Los Angeles County Department of Health inspectors made a

surprise visit Oct. 27, they found evidence of a cockroach and fly

infestation.

The restaurant was closed for three days.

“We will not reopen a facility unless they have completely mitigated

the problem,” chief environmental specialist Terrance Powell said. “The

other thing which is clearly one of the issues is to examine their

performance in the past and see where they are making the same mistakes.”

La Bamba was closed in 1998 for rodents and in 1999 for cockroaches.

Asked how cockroaches and flies had infiltrated her establishment,

Poorman said the open patio area was a big factor.

She said the health department has encouraged her to enclose the

patio, which she says is too expensive to do.

The City Council voted 5-0 in October to make the posting of health

department letter grades mandatory in Burbank. Prior to Nov. 4, when the

ordinance became effective, restaurants disclosed their grades on a

voluntary basis.

“We will be on the ball to make sure they improve their conditions,”

East Valley chief environmental health specialist Paul Husson said.

He said according to the new report, there were no signs of vermin

infestation at La Bamba. The restaurant had only minor misdemeanors, such

as empty food containers on the floor, a missing test kit for checking

the dish sanitizing solution and a domestic freezer that needed to be

replaced with a commercial one.

Health officials went in for a final reinspection on Friday. If the

restaurant fails another inspection in the next 12 months, it could be

closed permanently.

“If they have a closure and it emanates around some of the same

conditions, then we would schedule them for a permit revocation,” Powell

said. “Criminal charges could also be filed.”