Argo Tea

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedDecember 5, 2018
• address222 W Merchandise Mart Plz, Chicago 60654

Is Argo Tea clean?

Argo Tea is currently listed as closed by Chicago Department of Public Health, as of its inspection on December 5, 2018. A closure means inspectors found conditions serious enough to stop service — it is not the same as a restaurant choosing to shut down, and the listing can change once the problems are fixed and re-inspected.

What did inspectors find at Argo Tea?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 5, 2018, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • 6-301.14-OBSERVED NO HAND WASHING SIGNAGE INSTALLED AT HAND SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO INSTALL HAND SIGNAGE IN SAID AREA. MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES. • 6-301.11- OBSERVED NO SOAP AT HAND SINK AT FRONT PREP AREA. INFORMED MANAGER THAT HAND SINKS MUST HAVE HAND SOAP. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE HAND SOAP AT HAND SINK. MANAGER CORRECTED VIOLATION DURING INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION # 7-38-030(c) COMBINED WITH ABOVE VIOLATION. • 5-205.11- OBSERVED FRONT PREP HAND SINK IN USE AS DUMP SINK, WITH CREAM, ICE CUBE AND COFFEE DEBRIS IN BOTTOM OF HAND SINK. INFORMED MANAGER THAT HAND SINKS MUST BE USED FOR HAND WASHING ONLY. INSTRUCTED MANGER TO USE HAND SINKS FOR HAND WASHING ONLY. MANAGER CORRECTED VIOLATION DURING INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION #7-38-030(C) NO CITATION ISSUED. COMBINED WITH ABOVE VIOLATION. • 6-301.12- OBSERVED NO PAPER TOWELS AT HAND SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA. INFORMED MANAGER THAT HAND SINKS MUST HAVE PAPER TOWELS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE PAPER TOWELS AT HAND SINK. MANAGER CORRECTED VIOLATION DURING INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION # 7-38-030(c) COMBINED WITH ABOVE VIOLATION.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • 5-205.15- OBSERVED NO DUMP SINK/1 COMP SINK INSTALL AT FRONT COURT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO INSTALL A MINIMUM 1 DUMP SINK/1 COMP SINK FOR DISCARD OF ICE, CREAM, ETC. IN SAID AREA. MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • 6-201.11- OBSERVED CHIPPED AND PEELING PAINT ON FLOOR IN REAR DRY STORAGE/DISHWASHING AREA. INFORMED MANAGER THAT SURFACE MUST BE SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO RESURFACE SAID AREA AND ENSURE SURFACE IS SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE. MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES.

When was Argo Tea last inspected?

Argo Tea has 10 inspections on record going back to June 21, 2010.

Argo Tea vs Loop

Loop runs 70% clean across 3,616 tracked restaurants — 2,521 clean, 764 mid, 300 cooked.

Against the 3,616 spots Cooked tracks in Loop, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

Other spots in Loop

• ✓ Jewell @ 131
  cooked · October 31, 2016
• ? Wacker Coffee & Sundries, Incorporated
  cooked · July 28, 2010
• ✓ Jaffa Bakery
  cooked · November 18, 2011
• ✓ Fat Eddie's Employee Cafeteria
  clean · June 10, 2026
• ✓! South Water Kitchen
  cooked · February 19, 2013
• ? Liberty Coffee And Tea
  cooked · October 21, 2010

See every restaurant inspection in Loop →

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 December 5, 2018. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.