Orange County Restaurant Closures: Mozambique, Waba Grill, Taco Rosa

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Inspectors from the Orange County Health Care Agency's Environmental Health Division temporarily closed 21 restaurants across the county from Aug. 31 to Sept. 20, according to the most recent food establishment closure report.

Restaurants from Anaheim, Cypress, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Orange, San Clemente, Santa Ana and Westminster were flagged for imminent health hazards, according to inspectors.

"Closures or 'permit suspensions' are performed in response to imminent health hazards present in a food facility that post a serious health hazard if not immediately corrected," according to the health care agency's website.

Such health hazards seen this month included vermin in critical food areas (including cockroaches and rodents), sewage overflow, and a lack of adequate warm water for hand and dishware washing, according to reports.

"While closed, the restaurant owners can concentrate their efforts on resolving the reason for closure," according to the website. "Whether it is an Inspector Initiated Closure or an Owner Initiated Closure, a representative of Environmental Health will always verify that the reason for the closure has been corrected before reopening the food facility."

The following 21 restaurants were closed by Orange County Environmental Health inspectors from Aug. 31 to Sept. 20, according to the most recent report:

Anaheim

Anaheim restaurant, the Hong Kong Express, located at 527 Sout State Street, was closed on Sept. 19 due to a cockroach infestation, inspectors reported. According to reports, the restaurant was allowed to reopen one day later on Sept. 20.

Waba Grill, located at 1200 S. Beach Boulevard, closed due to cockroach infestations, according to the Orange County Health Department. Inspectors closed the establishment on Sept. 13 and allowed it to reopen one day after the infestation was resolved.

Cypress

The Loft at Cypress, a restaurant at 5950 Corporate Avenue, Suite 300, closed temporarily on Sept. 12 due to an undisclosed health department issue. The restaurant reopened on Sept. 14, according to reports.

Fullerton

Farmer Boys in Fullerton, located at 663 S. Placentia Avenue, was closed on Aug. 31 due to a sewage overflow. According to health department reports, that issue was resolved one day later when the restaurant was allowed to reopen on Sept. 1.

Garden Grove

Barcode, located at 12926 in Garden Grove, was closed on Sept. 20 due to a sewage overflow, according to Orange County Health Department inspectors. According to the latest restaurant closure report, the restaurant has not yet reopened.

The 5W Meat Factory, a restaurant located at 10254 Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove, closed temporarily due to a cockroach infestation on Sept. 14, according to inspectors. The restaurant was allowed to reopen one day later after resolving the issue.

Garden Grove's 102 Cafe, located at 12908 Main Street, was closed on Sept. 15 after inspectors identified a cockroach infestation. As of this report, there was no word as to the reopening of the cafe.

Quan Bun, a Garden Grove restaurant located at 9792 Garden Grove Boulevard, closed temporarily on Sept. 14 due to a cockroach infestation, inspectors from the Orange County Health Department reported. The restaurant owners worked over the next six days to resolve this infestation until Sept. 20, when the restaurant was allowed to reopen.

Huntington Beach

Surf City Liquor, located at 20972 Brookhurst Street in Huntington Beach, was closed for one day after inspectors discovered a rodent infestation. The Orange County Health Department closed the liquor store on Sept. 14 and allowed it to reopen one day later when the infestation was

Irvine

Kang Ho Dong Baekjejong, an Irvine restaurant located at 14160 Culver Drive, closed Sept. 7 due to a cockroach infestation, according to Orange County Health Care official reports. The restaurant owners resolved the issue and were allowed to reopen the following day.

Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach's Mozambique Restaurant, located at 1740 South Coast Highway, and its Durban Bar, Shebeen Bar, and the Mozambique rooftop deck were closed this month on Sept. 11 due to a cockroach infestation. According to reports, the Orange County Health Department inspectors allowed the roof deck, the restaurant, and the Shebeen Bar to reopen on Sept. 12. The Mozambique Durban Bar, on the first floor, remained closed until Sept. 20, when the cockroach infestation was finally resolved.

Laguna Niguel

Kaleyard, a Laguna Niguel restaurant located at 31341 Niguel Road, Suite E, closed due to a rodent infestation on Sept. 14, according to Orange County Health Department reports. It reopened one day later after resolving the issue.

Newport Beach

The Scratch Bakery Cafe, located at 561 Newport Center Drive, Suite 561 in Newport Beach, closed temporarily on Sept. 8 due to a cockroach infestation. The restaurant was allowed to reopen one day later.

Taco Rosa, located at 2632 San Miguel Drive in Newport Beach, was closed for ten days this month due to a rodent and cockroach infestation. On Sept. 8, inspectors from the health department closed the restaurant until the owners could get the vermin under control. The restaurant was allowed to reopen on Sept. 18 after solving its rodent and insect problems.

Orange

Yoshihauru Ramen restaurant, located at 1891 N. Tustin Street in Orange, closed briefly for reasons not disclosed by healthcare officials. The restaurant resolved flagged issues and reopened the same day.

Santa Ana

La Tapatia Meat Market at 1506 W. Edinger Avenue in Santa Ana closed temporarily on Sept. 5 due to a cockroach infestation, according to the OC Health Department's reports. It was allowed to reopen two days later, according to inspector reports.

San Clemente

The San Clemente-based restaurant Brick was closed on Sept. 20 due to a rodent infestation, according to the latest health department report. As of Friday, that restaurant has not yet reopened.

Stanton

The Stanton-based Sama Restaurant, located at 12282 Beach Boulevard, closed temporarily due to insufficient hot water, which created a health hazard for customers. According to OC Healthcare officials, the water heater was repaired, and the restaurant was allowed to reopen on Sept. 11.

Knottea, located at 7019 Katella Avenue in Stanton, closed temporarily on Sept. 13 due to a cockroach infestation, according to reports. It was allowed to reopen one day later, on Sept. 14, after resolving the issue, according to the health department report.

Tustin

Citrus Cafe, located at 1481 Edinger Avenue in Tustin, closed on Sept. 13 due to a cockroach infestation, according to the Orange County Health Department inspectors. The restaurant was allowed to reopen on Sept. 14, according to reports.

Westminster

Maui Hawaiian BBQ, located at 16428 Beach Boulevard, closed on Sept. 7 due to a cockroach infestation, according to the health department's reports. Owners resolved the vermin problem and were allowed to reopen on Sept. 8, according to inspector reports.