Cooked?
Stax Cafe
- resultPass w/ Conditions
- critical violations1
- last inspectedJune 1, 2026
- address522 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago 60642
Is Stax Cafe clean?
Stax Cafe is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on June 1, 2026. 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 Stax Cafe?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 1, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecriticalAdequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED HANDWASHING SINK IN KITCHEN/PREP AREA NOT ACCESSIBLE DUE TO UTENSIL (BOWL/SCOOP) WAS IN THE HANDWASHING SINK. INSTRUCTED THAT SINK MUST BE ACCESSIBLE FOR HANDWASHING ONLY. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-030(C). CITATION ISSUED.
- 🏷️food improperly labeledFood Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS WITHOUT LABELS CONTAINING THE COMMON NAME OF FOODS. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.
- ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS STORED IN WALK-IN FREEZER AND PREP COOLER UNCOVERED. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE FOOD GRADE LIDS/COVERS.Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD ITEMS STORED IN WALK-IN FREEZER AND PREP COOLER UNCOVERED. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE FOOD GRADE LIDS/COVERS.
- 🧻grimy wiping clothsWiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • OBSERVED WET WIPING CLOTHS ON SEVERAL PREP AREA SURFACES. INSTRUCTED TO STORE PROPERLY IN A SANITIZING SOLUTION BETWEEN USAGE.
- ⚠️Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • OBSERVED PLATES NOT INVERTED. INSTRUCTED TO INVERT PLATES AFTER SANITIZING AND AIR DRYING.Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • OBSERVED PLATES NOT INVERTED. INSTRUCTED TO INVERT PLATES AFTER SANITIZING AND AIR DRYING.
- ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTACLE IN THE WOMEN WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE COVERED WASTE RECEPTACLE.Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTACLE IN THE WOMEN WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE COVERED WASTE RECEPTACLE.
When was Stax Cafe last inspected?
Stax Cafe has 14 inspections on record going back to June 14, 2018. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| June 1, 2026 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| July 15, 2025 | Pass | |
| July 12, 2024 | Pass | |
| July 5, 2024 | Fail | |
| April 21, 2023 | Pass | |
| January 21, 2022 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| May 10, 2021 | Pass | |
| April 29, 2021 | Fail | |
| April 27, 2021 | Fail | |
| April 23, 2020 | Pass | |
| June 7, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| May 20, 2019 | Fail |
Stax Cafe vs Near West Side
Near West Side runs 72% clean across 2,033 tracked restaurants — 1,463 clean, 406 mid, 151 cooked.
Against the 2,033 spots Cooked tracks in Near West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 40% of them.
Other spots 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.
Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated June 1, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.