Big Apple Finer Foods Inc

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations0
• last inspectedMay 11, 2026
• address2345 N Clark St, Chicago 60614
• cuisineGrocery Store

Is Big Apple Finer Foods Inc clean?

Big Apple Finer Foods Inc is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 11, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Big Apple Finer Foods Inc?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 11, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧪toxic chemicals mishandled
  Compliance With Variance/Specialized Process/Haccp • NOTED A REDUCED OXYGEN PACKAGING MACHINE IN THE PREMISES BEING USED WITHOUT A HACCP PLAN. OBSERVED SEVERAL DIFFERENT VACUUM PACKAGED MEATS SUCH AS SAUSAGE PATTIES, HOT DOGS, PORK ETC. ON DISPLAY IN COOLERS FOR SALE BEING HELD LONGER THAN 48 HOURS AND NOT LABELED WITH THE PRODUCTION TIME AND DATE. ALL FOODS AND MACHINE TAGGED HELD FOR INSPECTION AND MUST NOT USE OR SELL UNTIL AN APPROVED HACCP PLAN IS GRANTED BY THE CHICAGO DEPT. OF PUBLIC HEALTH. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005 CITATION ISSUED.
• ⚠️Variance Obtained For Specialized Processing Methods • SEE VIOLATION #29 FOR VIOLATION AND CITATION.
  Variance Obtained For Specialized Processing Methods • SEE VIOLATION #29 FOR VIOLATION AND CITATION.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • MUST NOT USE USED ANIMAL ORIGIN EGG BOXES AS FOOD DELIVERY BOXES.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • MUST NOT USE USED ANIMAL ORIGIN EGG BOXES AS FOOD DELIVERY BOXES.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • ALL PREP AREA WIPING CLOTHS MUST BE HELD IN A CONTAINER WITH A SANITIZING SOLUTION BETWEEN USE.
• ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • ALL STORED ITEMS THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY MUST BE ELEVATED FROM THE FLOORS.
  Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • ALL STORED ITEMS THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY MUST BE ELEVATED FROM THE FLOORS.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • MUST NOT USE WOOD CRATES AND MILK CRATES AS A MEANS OF ELEVATION THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY. FLOORS MUST BE ACCESSIBLE FOR CLEANING AND MONITORING AT ALL TIMES.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • MUST NOT USE CARDBOARD AS LINER FOR SHELVING INSIDE THE WALK-IN COOLER. SHELVING MUST BE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • MISSING BASEBOARD COVING THROUGHOUT VARIOUS AREAS OF THE MEAT PREP AND AT THE THREE COMPARTMENT SINK. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE. • FLOORS IN POOR CONDITION UNDER THE MEAT PREP HAND WASHING SINK, UNDER THE THREE COMPARTMENT SINK AND OTHER AREAS OF MEAT/DELI PREP. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR TO BE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.----NOTED DIRTY FLOOR UNDER THE THREE COMPARTMENT SINK. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES. MUST PROVIDE FOR ALL REQUIRED EMPLOYEES.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES. MUST PROVIDE FOR ALL REQUIRED EMPLOYEES.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • NO PROOF ALLERGEN TRAINING OR CERTIFICATE FOR THE CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER.

When was Big Apple Finer Foods Inc last inspected?

Big Apple Finer Foods Inc has 11 inspections on record going back to October 28, 2013.

Big Apple Finer Foods Inc vs Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park runs 67% clean across 1,649 tracked restaurants — 1,089 clean, 360 mid, 187 cooked.

Against the 1,649 spots Cooked tracks in Lincoln Park, this one comes out cleaner than 24% of them.

Other spots in Lincoln Park

• ✓ Galway Arms
  clean · November 25, 2025
• ✓ Apollo Theatre
  clean · November 7, 2017
• ? Caribou Coffee
  cooked · July 17, 2013
• ✓ Tilli's Restaurant
  clean · April 2, 2010
• ✓ Boutique
  clean · April 14, 2011
• ✓ Banana Joe's
  clean · June 28, 2012

See every restaurant inspection in Lincoln 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 11, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.