24 Mercado/Food Mart

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedMay 14, 2020
• address5226-5240 S Western Ave, Chicago 60609
• cuisineGrocery Store

Is 24 Mercado/Food Mart clean?

24 Mercado/Food Mart is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 14, 2020. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at 24 Mercado/Food Mart?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 14, 2020, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🤒staff working while sickcritical
  Procedures For Responding To Vomiting And Diarrheal Events • NO PROCEDURES FOR RESPONDING TO VOMITING AND DIARRHEA EVENTS. MUST PROVIDE WITH CLEAN UP KIT. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-005. NO CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • MUST PROPERLY STORE WIPING CLOTHS IN CHEMICAL SANITIZING SOLUTION WHEN NOT IN USE.
• ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • MUST PROVIDE COVERED RECEPTACLES IN WASHROOM USED BY FEMALE EMPLOYEES.
  Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • MUST PROVIDE COVERED RECEPTACLES IN WASHROOM USED BY FEMALE EMPLOYEES.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • MUST CLEAN FLOOR IN WALK-IN COOLER AND REAR DISH WASHING AREA OF LITTER AND DEBRIS. • MUST REMOVE UNNECESSARY ITEMS AND CLUTTER IN REAR STORAGE/DISH WASHING AREA. MUST ORGANIZE AND MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES.

When was 24 Mercado/Food Mart last inspected?

24 Mercado/Food Mart has 2 inspections on record going back to May 22, 2018.

24 Mercado/Food Mart vs Gage Park

Gage Park runs 43% clean across 393 tracked restaurants — 166 clean, 32 mid, 192 cooked.

Against the 393 spots Cooked tracks in Gage Park, this one comes out cleaner than 50% of them.

Other spots in Gage Park

• ✓ Las Carnitas Uruapan
  clean · May 7, 2026
• ✓ La Baguette Bakery
  clean · October 14, 2025
• ✓ Royal Nutrition
  cooked · October 1, 2019
• ✓ Carmelo's Taco Place
  clean · July 1, 2025
• ✓ Plan Club 100
  clean · December 10, 2025
• ✓! Richmond Food & Liquors
  mid · July 16, 2019

See every restaurant inspection in Gage Park →

How Chicago grades restaurants

Chicago does not use letter grades. Every inspection ends in one of three official results: Pass, Pass with Conditions, or Fail. Pass with Conditions means violations were found but corrected on the spot or under a deadline — the restaurant is open, with homework. A Fail means serious violations went uncorrected, and it usually brings a re-inspection within days. Chicago also flags “priority” violations, the ones most likely to actually make someone sick. Cooked reads Pass as clean, Pass with Conditions as mid, and Fail as cooked, and shows the itemized violations behind each result.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated May 14, 2020. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.