El Centro Market

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedSeptember 23, 2016
• address5153-59 S Kedzie Ave, Chicago 60632
• cuisineGrocery Store

Is El Centro Market clean?

El Centro Market is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on September 23, 2016. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at El Centro Market?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 23, 2016, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • OBSERVED FROZEN MEATS AND FROZEN FRUITS STORED IN PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS. OBSERVED RAW WOOD SURFACES ALONG THE BASEBOARD OF THE DAIRY WALK-IN COOLER IN THE BASEMENT. MUST PAINT OR SEAL.
  Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • OBSERVED FROZEN MEATS AND FROZEN FRUITS STORED IN PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS. OBSERVED RAW WOOD SURFACES ALONG THE BASEBOARD OF THE DAIRY WALK-IN COOLER IN THE BASEMENT. MUST PAINT OR SEAL.
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Food And Non-Food Contact Equipment Utensils Clean, Free Of Abrasive Detergents • CLEAN THE FAN IN THE REAR AREA THAT IS AIMED DIRECTLY AT THE DRIED BEEF. CLEAN THE PREP TABLES AND STORAGE SHELVES.
• ⚠️Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • OBSERVED WATER ON THE FLOOR IN THE BASEMENT STORAGE AREAS AND WALK-IN COOLERS.
  Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • OBSERVED WATER ON THE FLOOR IN THE BASEMENT STORAGE AREAS AND WALK-IN COOLERS.
• 🌡️thermometers missing
  Lighting: Required Minimum Foot-Candles Of Light Provided, Fixtures Shielded • MUST PROVIDE LIGHT SHIELDS AND END CAPS ON ALL LIGHT SHIELDS WHERE MISSING IN ALL PREP AREAS. MUST PROVIDE LIGHT SHIELDS FOR LIGHT FIXTURES IN THE BASEMENT WALK-IN COOLERS.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Ventilation: Rooms And Equipment Vented As Required: Plumbing: Installed And Maintained • DRAIN LINE IS LEAKING IN THE BASEMENT. MUST REPAIR.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Premises Maintained Free Of Litter, Unnecessary Articles, Cleaning Equipment Properly Stored • EXCESSIVE CLUTTER, NON-WORKING AND UNUSED ITEMS STORED IN THE BASEMENT, REAR FOOD PREP AREA AND REAR HALLWAY. MUST REMOVE EXCESSIVE CLUTTER.

When was El Centro Market last inspected?

El Centro Market has 17 inspections on record going back to December 1, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

El Centro Market vs Gage Park

Gage Park runs 71% clean across 393 tracked restaurants — 278 clean, 70 mid, 42 cooked.

Against the 393 spots Cooked tracks in Gage Park, this one comes out cleaner than 32% of them.

Other spots in Gage Park

• ✓ Carniceria Y Fruteria Favela
  clean · October 15, 2015
• ✓ Taqueria Atotonilco
  clean · May 21, 2026
• ✓ Chinese #1 Kitchen
  clean · November 9, 2010
• ✓ Vallarta
  clean · August 18, 2016
• ✓ Hani Liquor Station
  clean · June 4, 2026
• ✓! Cupboard Food & Liquor
  mid · April 30, 2020

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 September 23, 2016. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.