Ponce Restaurant

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedFebruary 23, 2024
• address4313 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago 60639

Is Ponce Restaurant clean?

Ponce Restaurant is currently listed as closed by Chicago Department of Public Health, as of its inspection on February 23, 2024. A closure means inspectors found conditions serious enough to stop service — it is not the same as a restaurant choosing to shut down, and the listing can change once the problems are fixed and re-inspected.

What did inspectors find at Ponce Restaurant?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 23, 2024, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Approved Thawing Methods Used • OBSERVED FROZEN FISH THAWING IN CONTAINER IN THE FOOD PREP AREA. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED TO THAW TCS FOODS UNDER COLD RUNNING WATER, IN THE REFRIGERATOR, OR THE MICROWAVE AS PART OF A CONTINUOUS COOKING PROCESS.
  Approved Thawing Methods Used • OBSERVED FROZEN FISH THAWING IN CONTAINER IN THE FOOD PREP AREA. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED TO THAW TCS FOODS UNDER COLD RUNNING WATER, IN THE REFRIGERATOR, OR THE MICROWAVE AS PART OF A CONTINUOUS COOKING PROCESS.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • MUST PROVIDE LABELS FOR BULK ITEM FOODS NOT IN ORIGINAL CONTAINERS.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD SIX INCHES OFF THE FLOOR.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD SIX INCHES OFF THE FLOOR.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • OBSERVED SOILED WIPING CLOTHS STORED ON PREP TABLES. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO STORE IN SANITIZING SOLUTION BETWEEN USES.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • MUST NOT USE DUCT TAPE AS A MEANS OF REPAIR ON CHEST FREEZER IN REAR AREA. THE SURFACE MUST BE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE • OBSERVED TORN GASKET IN THE 2-DOOR COOLER IN THE PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR OR REPLACE AND MAINTAIN • OBSERVED THE INSIDE OF THE DEEP FRYER OIL FILTERING UNIT WITH A BUILD-UP OF GREASE AND FOOD DEBRIS. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN ALL • NOTED SOME USE OF MILK CRATES FOR ELEVATION AT THE KITCHEN AREA AND WALK-IN. INSTRUCTED NOT TO USE MILK CRATES FOR ELEVATION TO PREVENT HIDING PLACES FOR PEST. MUST PROVIDES APPROPRIATE SHELVING FOR STORAGE. ALL FOOD ITEMS MUST ALSO BE STORED 6" AWAY FROM THE WALL
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED ACCUMULATED GREASE AND FOOD DEBRIS ON INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SURFACES OF COOKING EQUIPMENT, PREP TABLES, COOLERS, FREEZERS, SHELVING UNITS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED GARAGE AREA TO BE CLUTTERED AND WITH UNNECESSARY ARTICLES. MUST REMOVE ALL UNNECESSARY ARTICLES, DETAIL CLEAN AREA, ORGANIZE, STORE ARTICLES 6" OFF FLOOR, AND MAINTAIN. • OBSERVED DEBRIS ON FLOORS ALONG WALLS AND CORNERS THROUGHOUT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED ONE BURNT OUT LIGHT BULB ON THE MAIN PREP LINE. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED ONE BURNT OUT LIGHT BULB ON THE MAIN PREP LINE. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE.

When was Ponce Restaurant last inspected?

Ponce Restaurant has 17 inspections on record going back to December 16, 2016. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Ponce Restaurant vs Hermosa

Hermosa runs 35% clean across 816 tracked restaurants — 281 clean, 67 mid, 466 cooked.

Against the 816 spots Cooked tracks in Hermosa, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

Other spots in Hermosa

• ✓! Dunkin Donuts
  mid · November 28, 2022
• ✓! Nicko's Tacos
  cooked · January 10, 2017
• ✓! Dollar Tree
  mid · October 17, 2024
• ✓! Diversey Cicero Shell
  mid · July 14, 2020
• ✓ Dona Mari's
  clean · September 25, 2025
• ✓ Pizza Hut
  cooked · March 14, 2016

See every restaurant inspection in Hermosa →

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 February 23, 2024. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.