Mel-Bay Grocery
clean
Looking clean.
The current published rating reads clean. Keep its inspection date in view.
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedOctober 1, 2026 →
- 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 October 1, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. 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 October 1, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🚿plumbing acting upNon-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean
- 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimyPhysical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean
When was Mel-Bay Grocery last inspected?
Mel-Bay Grocery has 10 inspections on record going back to September 20, 2010.
Graded visits shown below · newest first · tap a date for the record
History worth a look: 2 of these 10 displayed graded visits read cooked. The current result above stands on its own.
October 1, 2026 Pass
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View full inspection →September 26, 2024 Pass
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View full inspection →April 8, 2020 Pass w/ Conditions
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View full inspection →March 30, 2020 Fail
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View full inspection →September 15, 2016 Pass
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View full inspection →October 20, 2014 Pass
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View full inspection →March 7, 2012 Pass
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View full inspection →February 29, 2012 Fail
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View full inspection →October 8, 2010 Pass
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View full inspection →September 20, 2010 Pass
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View full inspection →Mel-Bay Grocery vs Humboldt Park
Humboldt Park runs 76% clean across 321 tracked restaurants — 240 clean, 59 mid, 16 cooked.
Against the 321 spots Cooked tracks in Humboldt Park, this one comes out cleaner than 28% of them.
Other spots 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.
Read the Chicago ratings guide →
Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.
Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated October 1, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.
check your own block 📸
Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.