Buffalo Joe's On Howard

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedSeptember 26, 2025
• address1841 W Howard St, Chicago 60626

Is Buffalo Joe's On Howard clean?

Buffalo Joe's On Howard is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on September 26, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Buffalo Joe's On Howard?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 26, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food-Contact Surfaces: Cleaned & Sanitized • OBSERVED THE ICE BIN INTERIOR IN NEED OF CLEANING. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE ICE, CLEAN AND MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • OBSERVED A 1/4" GAP AT THE LONG EDGE OF THE REAR EXIT DOOR. MUST PROVIDE A TIGHT-FITTING SEAL AT ALL OUTER OPENINGS TO PREVENT THE ENTRY OF PESTS.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD CONTAINERS STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROPERLY STORE AND PROTECT FOOD ITEMS FROM CONTAMINATION WHILE STORED BY ELEVATING AT LEAST SIX INCHES FROM THE FLOOR ON RAISED SHELVING UNITS.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD CONTAINERS STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROPERLY STORE AND PROTECT FOOD ITEMS FROM CONTAMINATION WHILE STORED BY ELEVATING AT LEAST SIX INCHES FROM THE FLOOR ON RAISED SHELVING UNITS.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED TORN DOOR GASKET INSIDE OF THE 2 DOOR PREP COOLER NEAR CASHIER. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE • OBSERVED 3-COMPARTMENT SINK STOPPERS MISSING/NOT WORKING. INSTRUCTED MANAGER MUST PROVIDE WORKING STOPPERS AT 3-COMPARTMENT SINK.
• ⚠️Garbage & Refuse Properly Disposed; Facilities Maintained • OBSERVED STORAGE AREA AND ENCLOSURE FOR REFUSE, RECYCLABLES, OR RETURNABLES LITTERED WITH UNNECESSARY ITEMS (EX. CRATES, WOODEN PALLETS, ETC). INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE AND MAINTAIN A MENTIONED AREAS SHALL BE MAINTAINED FREE OF UNNECESSARY ITEMS.
  Garbage & Refuse Properly Disposed; Facilities Maintained • OBSERVED STORAGE AREA AND ENCLOSURE FOR REFUSE, RECYCLABLES, OR RETURNABLES LITTERED WITH UNNECESSARY ITEMS (EX. CRATES, WOODEN PALLETS, ETC). INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE AND MAINTAIN A MENTIONED AREAS SHALL BE MAINTAINED FREE OF UNNECESSARY ITEMS.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • NO PROOF OF ALLERGEN TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES FOR ALL CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGERS.

When was Buffalo Joe's On Howard last inspected?

Buffalo Joe's On Howard has 22 inspections on record going back to September 7, 2011. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Buffalo Joe's On Howard vs Rogers Park

Rogers Park runs 62% clean across 731 tracked restaurants — 451 clean, 128 mid, 148 cooked.

Against the 731 spots Cooked tracks in Rogers Park, this one comes out cleaner than 40% of them.

Other spots in Rogers Park

• ? Subway
  cooked · January 3, 2013
• ? Clark Express Food Mart, Inc.
  cooked · November 9, 2017
• ✓ Chipotle Mexican Grill
  clean · February 10, 2026
• ? Cece's Cafe
  cooked · March 19, 2020
• ? Stop-N- Buy Inc
  cooked · January 15, 2013
• ? Morse Convienent Food
  cooked · April 5, 2012

See every restaurant inspection in Rogers 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 September 26, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.