Express Cafe

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedMarch 27, 2015
• address3658 W Diversey Ave, Chicago 60647

Is Express Cafe clean?

Express Cafe is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on March 27, 2015. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Express Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 27, 2015, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • OBSERVED CUTTING BOARDS WITH DEEP DARK GROOVES MUST BE SANDED/BLEACHED OR REPLACED. OBSERVED FOOD STORED IN PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS INSIDE UPRIGHT FREEZER IN BASEMENT. INSTRUCTED TO STORE IN A FOOD GRADE BAGS.
  Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • OBSERVED CUTTING BOARDS WITH DEEP DARK GROOVES MUST BE SANDED/BLEACHED OR REPLACED. OBSERVED FOOD STORED IN PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS INSIDE UPRIGHT FREEZER IN BASEMENT. INSTRUCTED TO STORE IN A FOOD GRADE BAGS.
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Food And Non-Food Contact Equipment Utensils Clean, Free Of Abrasive Detergents • OBSERVED GREASE BUILD-UP ON VENTILATION HOOD ABOVE COOKING EQUIPMENT. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. OBSERVED ICE MACHINE IN BASEMENT WITH DIRT ACCUMULATION ON THE INTERIOR PANEL. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • OBSERED OPENINGS INTO CEILING AND WALL IN WASHROOM. MUST REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
  Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • OBSERED OPENINGS INTO CEILING AND WALL IN WASHROOM. MUST REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Premises Maintained Free Of Litter, Unnecessary Articles, Cleaning Equipment Properly Stored • MUST REMOVE CLUTTER AND UNNECESSARY ARTICLES FROM BASEMENT TO PREVENT RODENT HARBORAGE.
• ⚠️Food (Ice) Dispensing Utensils, Wash Cloths Properly Stored • OBSERVED ICE SCOOPS STORED ON TOP OF ICE MACHINE IN BASEMENT. MUST PROPERLY STORE ICE SCOOPS IN A CLEAN CONTAINER TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION.
  Food (Ice) Dispensing Utensils, Wash Cloths Properly Stored • OBSERVED ICE SCOOPS STORED ON TOP OF ICE MACHINE IN BASEMENT. MUST PROPERLY STORE ICE SCOOPS IN A CLEAN CONTAINER TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION.

When was Express Cafe last inspected?

Express Cafe has 4 inspections on record going back to November 22, 2013.

Express Cafe vs Avondale

Avondale runs 64% clean across 679 tracked restaurants — 432 clean, 111 mid, 133 cooked.

Against the 679 spots Cooked tracks in Avondale, this one comes out cleaner than 39% of them.

Other spots in Avondale

• ✓ Parachute Hifi
  clean · July 15, 2025
• ✓ Parachute
  clean · April 30, 2014
• ✓ Amman One Stop Shop
  clean · January 16, 2015
• ✓ Dante's Pizzeria
  clean · September 29, 2020
• ✓! Sugar Hills Bakery
  mid · October 30, 2017
• ✓ Tacos Tequilas
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See every restaurant inspection in Avondale →

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 March 27, 2015. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.