Common Ground Cafe @ Simmons College

• resultFail
• critical violations1
• last inspectedOctober 2, 2025
• address300 Fenway, Boston 02115

Is Common Ground Cafe @ Simmons College clean?

Common Ground Cafe @ Simmons College is currently Fail from Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division, from an inspection on October 2, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Common Ground Cafe @ Simmons College?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 2, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️When to Wash (P) • Observed food handlers not washing hand prior to donning on clean gloves and returning to work stationscritical
  When to Wash (P) • Observed food handlers not washing hand prior to donning on clean gloves and returning to work stations
• ⚠️(A)-(P) Person-In-Charge-Duties (Pf) • Multiple food handlers wearing disposable single use gloves (leaving and returning to work stations multiasking) Multiple food handlers not washing hands before donning on clean glove and returning to work station. Ware washing staff stacking sheet pans in sanitizer not allowing for proper sanitation Ware washing staff stacking sheet pans wet on drain board Food handlers/ware washing staff touching face/hair wearing single use gloves
  (A)-(P) Person-In-Charge-Duties (Pf) • Multiple food handlers wearing disposable single use gloves (leaving and returning to work stations multiasking) Multiple food handlers not washing hands before donning on clean glove and returning to work station. Ware washing staff stacking sheet pans in sanitizer not allowing for proper sanitation Ware washing staff stacking sheet pans wet on drain board Food handlers/ware washing staff touching face/hair wearing single use gloves
• ⚠️Wiping Cloths Use Limitation (C) • Wiping cloths not stored in a sanitizing solution between uses
  Wiping Cloths Use Limitation (C) • Wiping cloths not stored in a sanitizing solution between uses
• ⚠️Food Storage-Preventing Contamination from the Premises (C) • Open foods not stored in food grade covered containers
  Food Storage-Preventing Contamination from the Premises (C) • Open foods not stored in food grade covered containers
• ⚠️Nonfood Contact Surfaces (C) • Built up soils on interior of cabenets Built up frost/ice build up on interior of glass refrigeration - cold holding wells
  Nonfood Contact Surfaces (C) • Built up soils on interior of cabenets Built up frost/ice build up on interior of glass refrigeration - cold holding wells
• ⚠️Floors Walls and Ceilings-Cleanability (C) • Soiled/dusty ceiling tiles walls floors floor drains attachments Prep/ware washing/storage/employee bathrooms
  Floors Walls and Ceilings-Cleanability (C) • Soiled/dusty ceiling tiles walls floors floor drains attachments Prep/ware washing/storage/employee bathrooms
• ⚠️Controlling Pests (Pf) • Evidence of flies - Provide full extermination and Fly control plan
  Controlling Pests (Pf) • Evidence of flies - Provide full extermination and Fly control plan
• ⚠️Repairing-Premises Structures Attachments and Fixtures-Methods (C) • Wall next to food storage with chipped paint (bread/bagel/food storage) Doors to from and in ware washing area in disrepair Ceiling tiles in disrepair in ware washing area
  Repairing-Premises Structures Attachments and Fixtures-Methods (C) • Wall next to food storage with chipped paint (bread/bagel/food storage) Doors to from and in ware washing area in disrepair Ceiling tiles in disrepair in ware washing area

When was Common Ground Cafe @ Simmons College last inspected?

Common Ground Cafe @ Simmons College has 51 inspections on record going back to September 16, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Common Ground Cafe @ Simmons College vs Longwood

Longwood runs 78% clean across 203 tracked restaurants — 153 clean, 19 mid, 23 cooked.

Against the 203 spots Cooked tracks in Longwood, this one comes out cleaner than 7% of them.

Other spots in Longwood

• ✓ Museum Of Fine Arts New American Cafe
  clean · April 21, 2026
• ✕ Gardner Museum Cafe
  cooked · December 11, 2025
• ✓ El Pelon Taqueria
  clean · June 12, 2024
• ✓ Emmanuel College Bookstore No. 43
  clean · February 2, 2018
• ✓ Qdoba Mexican Eats No. 2207
  clean · March 17, 2023
• ✕ Sakura Japan
  cooked · May 8, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Longwood →

How Boston grades restaurants

Boston reports inspections as a pass or a fail, with no score and no letter. What separates a bad fail from a trivial one is the violation severity ladder: a single star is a minor issue, two stars is more serious, and three stars marks a critical foodborne-illness risk factor — temperature abuse, bad handwashing, cross-contamination. A restaurant can fail on paperwork alone, which is not the same as failing on food safety. Cooked splits Boston fails accordingly: a fail with a three-star violation reads cooked, a fail on minor items only reads mid.

Source: Boston Inspectional Services, Health Division via Analyze Boston. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated October 2, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.