Stax Cafe

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations0
• last inspectedFebruary 18, 2026 →
• address1401 W Taylor St, Chicago 60607

Is Stax Cafe clean?

Stax Cafe is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on February 18, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Stax Cafe?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on February 18, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Proper Cold Holding Temperatures
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used

When was Stax Cafe last inspected?

Stax Cafe has 26 inspections on record going back to July 9, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Stax Cafe vs Near West Side

Near West Side runs 80% clean across 1,294 tracked restaurants — 1,031 clean, 233 mid, 18 cooked.

Against the 1,294 spots Cooked tracks in Near West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 10% of them.

Other spots in Near West Side

• ✓ Saigon Sisters
  clean · March 27, 2025
• ✓ Next Restaurant/Aviary
  clean · October 27, 2025
• ✓ Next Restaurant/Aviary
  clean · March 22, 2011
• ✓ La Taberna On Halsted
  cooked · May 11, 2018
• ✓ La Taberna On Halsted
  clean · October 6, 2010
• ✓ Marathon
  cooked · December 26, 2012

See every restaurant inspection in Near West Side →

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 February 18, 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.