Hearty Cafe Pancake House

• resultPass
• critical violations1
• last inspectedSeptember 9, 2021
• address9623 S Western Ave, Chicago 60643

Is Hearty Cafe Pancake House clean?

Hearty Cafe Pancake House is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on September 9, 2021. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Hearty Cafe Pancake House?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 9, 2021, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED NO HANDWASHING SIGNS AT HANDWASHING SINKS IN FRONT AND REAR PREP AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE HANDWASHING SIGNS AT ALL HANDWASHING SINKS USED BY EMPLOYEES.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED SEVERAL UNLABELED CONTAINERS OF FOOD IN WALK-IN COOLER AND REACH IN COOLERS. INSTRUCTED TO LABEL ALL FOOD WITH COMMON NAME.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS STORED ON FLOOR IN WALK-IN COOLER AND FREEZER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS OFF FLOOR.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS STORED ON FLOOR IN WALK-IN COOLER AND FREEZER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS OFF FLOOR.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • OBSERVED SOILED WIPING CLOTHS STORED ON PREP TABLE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO STORE IN SANITIZING SOLUTION BETWEEN USES.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED ACCUMULATED FOOD DEBRIS AND GREASE BUILDUP ON INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SURFACES OF SLICERS, PREP TABLES, FRYERS, GRILL, STOVE, PREP COOLERS, FREEZERS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO CLEAN AND SANITIZE ALL FOOD AND NON-FOOD CONTACT SURFACES AND EQUIPMENT.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED EXCESSIVE CLUTTER IN REAR STORAGE AREA NEXT TO WALK IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE ALL UNNECESSARY ARTICLES AND ELEVATE ALL ITEMS OFF FLOOR • OBSERVED ACCUMULATED GREASE AND FOOD DEBRIS UNDER COOLING EQUIPMENT, ALONG WALLS AND IN ALL CORNERS IN PREP, STORAGE, AND DISH WASHING AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. ALSO MUST CLEAN FLOOR DRAINS TO PREVENT BREEDING PLACE FOR PEST.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED INADQUATE LIGHTING INSIDE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MAINTAIN.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED INADQUATE LIGHTING INSIDE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE LIGHTING AND MAINTAIN.

When was Hearty Cafe Pancake House last inspected?

Hearty Cafe Pancake House has 25 inspections on record going back to April 13, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Hearty Cafe Pancake House vs Beverly

Beverly runs 68% clean across 177 tracked restaurants — 121 clean, 34 mid, 22 cooked.

Against the 177 spots Cooked tracks in Beverly, this one comes out cleaner than 32% of them.

Other spots in Beverly

• ✓ 7-Eleven
  clean · December 6, 2013
• ✓ 7-Eleven
  clean · September 14, 2010
• ✓! Subway
  mid · May 6, 2022
• ✓ Just Turkey Restaurant
  clean · January 7, 2013
• ✕ Iona's Beverly Hills Cafe
  cooked · May 16, 2011
• ✓ Giordano's Of Beverly
  clean · December 19, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in Beverly →

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 9, 2021. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.