Chicago Produce

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedSeptember 22, 2025
• address3500 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago 60625
• cuisineGrocery Store

Is Chicago Produce clean?

Chicago Produce is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on September 22, 2025. 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 Chicago Produce?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 22, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • INSTRUCTED TO INSTALL A HAND WASHING SINK WITH HOT AND COLD RUNNING WATER, SOAP AND PAPER TOWELS THAT PROPERLY DRAINS IN THE REAR SMALL MEAT CUTTING/PACKING PREP ROOM WHERE A THREE COMPARTMENT SINK IS LOCATED. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION
• 🌡️thermometers missing
  Thermometers Provided & Accurate • MUST PROVIDE AN INTERNAL THERMOMETER FOR THE NEW HOT HOLDING UNIT IN THE DELI PREP AREA.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • WIPING CLOTHS THROUGHOUT THE DELI/FOOD PREP AREA MUST BE HELD IN A CONTAINER WITH A SANITIZING SOLUTION BETWEEN USE.
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • MUST NOT USE PLASTIC CUPS AS FOOD SCOOPS FOR PREPARED FOODS. MUST USE FOOD UTENSILS WITH HANDLES STORED INVERTED FROM THE FOODS.
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • MUST NOT USE PLASTIC CUPS AS FOOD SCOOPS FOR PREPARED FOODS. MUST USE FOOD UTENSILS WITH HANDLES STORED INVERTED FROM THE FOODS.
• ⚠️Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • NOTED KNIVES IMPROPERLY STORED BETWEEN THE WALL AND PREP TABLE AT THE PRODUCE PREP AREA. MUST PROVIDE A PROPER KNIFE HOLDER.
  Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • NOTED KNIVES IMPROPERLY STORED BETWEEN THE WALL AND PREP TABLE AT THE PRODUCE PREP AREA. MUST PROVIDE A PROPER KNIFE HOLDER.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • MUST NOT USE MILK CRATES AS A MEANS OF ELEVATION FOR STORED ITEMS THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY.----MUST NOT STORE PILED CARDBOARD BETWEEN THE WALL AND TRASH COMPACTOR. • MUST PROVIDE PROPER STOPPERS FOR BOTH THE THREE COMPARTMENT SINKS IN MEAT PREP AREAS.
• ⚠️Warewashing Facilities: Installed, Maintained & Used; Test Strips • MUST PROVIDE A WRITTEN CLEANING PROCEDURE FOR THE OVERSIZED POTS ON THE PREMISES OR PROVIDE A LARGER THREE COMPARTMENT SINK TO PROPERLY WASH, RINSE AND SANITIZE LARGE POTS.
  Warewashing Facilities: Installed, Maintained & Used; Test Strips • MUST PROVIDE A WRITTEN CLEANING PROCEDURE FOR THE OVERSIZED POTS ON THE PREMISES OR PROVIDE A LARGER THREE COMPARTMENT SINK TO PROPERLY WASH, RINSE AND SANITIZE LARGE POTS.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • NOTED RAW WOODEN SHELVING IN THE REAR MEAT PREP ROOM. MUST PAINT/SEAL TO BE SMOOTH, CLEANABLE AND NON-ABSORBENT.----MUST NOT USE CARDBOARD AS LINER FOR SHELVING IN THE SAME PREP ROOM.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • NOTED PIPING UNDER THE MEAT PREP THREE COMPARTMENT SINK (ADJACENT TO THE MEAT DISPLAY COOLER) REPAIRED WITH PLASTIC. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE, PROPERLY REPAIR ANY LEAKAGE.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • NOTED DAMAGED/MISSING FLOOR TILES THROUGHOUT THE MEAT PREP AREAS. MUST REPAIR/REPLACE TO BE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • EMPLOYEES MUST NOT STORE PERSONAL BELONGINGS IN THE FOOD PREP AREAS. MUST PROVIDE SEPARATE STORAGE ACCOMMODATIONS AWAY FROM FOOD PREP AND FOOD CONTACT ITEMS.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • EMPLOYEES MUST NOT STORE PERSONAL BELONGINGS IN THE FOOD PREP AREAS. MUST PROVIDE SEPARATE STORAGE ACCOMMODATIONS AWAY FROM FOOD PREP AND FOOD CONTACT ITEMS.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES FOR ALL REQUIRED EMPLOYEES. MUST PROVIDE.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING OR CERTIFICATES FOR ALL REQUIRED EMPLOYEES. MUST PROVIDE.

When was Chicago Produce last inspected?

Chicago Produce has 19 inspections on record going back to May 5, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Chicago Produce vs Albany Park

Albany Park runs 58% clean across 828 tracked restaurants — 478 clean, 149 mid, 198 cooked.

Against the 828 spots Cooked tracks in Albany Park, this one comes out cleaner than 30% of them.

Other spots in Albany Park

• ✓ Noonkabab
  clean · October 5, 2016
• ✓! Mi Lindo Palmar
  mid · February 27, 2012
• ✓ Taqueria Zapata
  clean · June 24, 2011
• ✓ New York Bakery
  clean · March 31, 2020
• ✓ La Fogata Nueva Restaurant
  clean · August 11, 2025
• ? Taqueria Los Mogotes De Michoacan Corp.
  cooked · March 24, 2011

See every restaurant inspection in Albany 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 22, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.