This might alter your plans for a nosh: Canter’s Deli, a Los Angeles landmark for generations on Fairfax Avenue, dropped from an A rating to a C after a recent food safety inspection.
Health inspectors observed cockroaches and rodent droppings in the restaurant’s storage and flies in the food preparation area during their visit on Aug. 7, according to a county report.
Canter’s Deli’s owners could not be reached for comment.
In total, the Aug. 7 inspection cited 11 violations that could lead to food-borne illness, according to an email from James Dragan, the county’s chief environmental health specialist.
Those violations resulted in the closure of the restaurant on Aug. 7. The deli remained shut for three days. During that time, county officials reinspected the deli twice before its reopening on Aug. 10, according to Dragan’s email.
Other violations included allowing “food to contact unclean equipment and using dirty utensil for scooping soup,” the report said.
During the inspection, county officials said in their report that they noticed “accumulated grease or food debris on the nonfood-contact surfaces of equipment, shelving, cabinets, and fryers.” One employee was found drinking from an open cup in the food preparation area.
The 24-hour deli has been known for offering a wide selection of sandwiches and welcoming famous customers such as Mel Brooks, Elvis Presley and Barack Obama.
