Mel-Bay Grocery

• resultPass
• critical violations1
• last inspectedSeptember 26, 2024
• address4401 W Cortez St, Chicago 60651
• cuisineGrocery Store

Is Mel-Bay Grocery clean?

Mel-Bay Grocery is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on September 26, 2024. 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 Mel-Bay Grocery?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on September 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 REAR PREP AREA HANDWASHING SINK MISSING SIGNAGE NOTIFYING EMPLOYEES TO WASH HANDS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE HANDWASHING SIGNAGE AT ALL HANDWASHING SINKS AND MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED HANDHELD CAN OPENER IN POOR REPAIR WITH NONFOOD-CONTACT SURFACES OF UTENSILS HEAVILY SOILED WITH DEBRIS. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE HANDHELD CAN OPENER AND MAINTAIN ALL UTENSILS IN GOOD REPAIR AND CALIBRATION.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED INTERIOR NONFOOD-CONTACT SURFACES OF LARGE DELI COOLER IN REAR PREP AREA TO BE SOILED WITH DRIED FOOD DEBRIS AND DUST. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN NONFOOD-CONTACT SURFACES OF COLD-HOLDING EQUIPMENT AT ADEQUATE FREQUENCY TO PREVENT BUILD UP OF SOIL AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED DRYING MOP STORED UPRIGHT AGAINST CORNER OF WALL NEAR UTILITY SINK. INSTRUCTED TO STORE MOP HEADS IN SUCH A WAY THAT DOES NOT CONTAMINATE WALLS, FLOORS, OR OTHER PHYSICAL FACILITIES WHILE DRYING AND MAINTAIN.

When was Mel-Bay Grocery last inspected?

Mel-Bay Grocery has 9 inspections on record going back to September 20, 2010.

Mel-Bay Grocery vs Humboldt Park

Humboldt Park runs 65% clean across 728 tracked restaurants — 467 clean, 112 mid, 143 cooked.

Against the 728 spots Cooked tracks in Humboldt Park, this one comes out cleaner than 36% of them.

Other spots in Humboldt Park

• ✓ Chen's Garden
  clean · January 14, 2022
• ✓! Central Park Foods Inc
  mid · November 2, 2023
• ✕ Maiz
  cooked · May 25, 2012
• ? La Perla Tapatia Restaurant
  cooked · January 2, 2013
• ✓ Aldi Foods -Store #04
  clean · January 14, 2025
• ? Juri Food Market Inc
  cooked · July 24, 2018

See every restaurant inspection in Humboldt 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 26, 2024. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.