Levain Bakery

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedDecember 26, 2024
• address408 N Clark St, Chicago 60654
• cuisineBakery

Is Levain Bakery clean?

Levain Bakery is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on December 26, 2024. 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 Levain Bakery?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 26, 2024, 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 SIGNAGE POSTED AT HANDWASHING SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO POST CLEARLY VISIBLE HANDWASHING SIGNAGE THAT NOTIFIES FOOD EMPLOYEES TO WASH THEIR HANDS AT ALL HANDWASHING SINKS USED BY FOOD EMPLOYEES. • OBSERVED PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER NOT DISPENSING PAPER TOWELS AT HANDWASHING SINK IN DISHWASHING AREA. INSTRUCTED HAND DRYING PROVISIONS SHALL BE PROVIDED AT HANDWASHING SINKS AT ALL TIMES. CORRECTED ON SITE PAPER TOWELS DISPENSER REFILLED AND DISPENSING PAPER TOWELS BEFORE CONCLUSION OF INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-030(C) CITATION ISSUED.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • OBSERVED OPENING IN MIDDLE OF FRONT ENTRANCE DOUBLE DOORS. INSTRUCTED TO SEAL ALL OUTER OPENINGS TO PREVENT PEST ENTRANCE.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED TEAS AND SYRUPS STORED UNDERNEATH HANDWASHING SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE ALL TEAS AND SYRUPS FROM UNDERNEATH HANDWASHING SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION FROM LEAKS FROM HANDWASHING SINK.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED TEAS AND SYRUPS STORED UNDERNEATH HANDWASHING SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE ALL TEAS AND SYRUPS FROM UNDERNEATH HANDWASHING SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION FROM LEAKS FROM HANDWASHING SINK.
• ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED SINGLE USE PAPER TOWELS STORED IN WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED TO RELOCATE ALL SINGLE SERVICE AND SINGLE USE ARTICLES, SINGLE SERVICE AND SINGLE USE ITEMS MAY NOT BE STORED IN TOILET ROOMS TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION.
  Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED SINGLE USE PAPER TOWELS STORED IN WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED TO RELOCATE ALL SINGLE SERVICE AND SINGLE USE ARTICLES, SINGLE SERVICE AND SINGLE USE ITEMS MAY NOT BE STORED IN TOILET ROOMS TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING PROVIDED. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING FOR ALL FOOD HANDLERS.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING PROVIDED. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING FOR ALL FOOD HANDLERS.

When was Levain Bakery last inspected?

Levain Bakery has 3 inspections on record going back to July 27, 2023.

Levain Bakery vs Near North Side

Near North Side runs 75% clean across 2,889 tracked restaurants — 2,147 clean, 530 mid, 203 cooked.

Against the 2,889 spots Cooked tracks in Near North Side, this one comes out cleaner than 12% of them.

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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 December 26, 2024. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.