Tamaleria Lupita

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedApril 3, 2026
• address3858 S California Ave, Chicago 60632

Is Tamaleria Lupita clean?

Tamaleria Lupita is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on April 3, 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 Tamaleria Lupita?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 3, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🤒staff working while sickcritical
  Procedures For Responding To Vomiting And Diarrheal Events • OBSERVED ALL NECESSARY ITEMS NOT ON PREMISES FOR COMPLYING WITH PROCEDURE AVAILABLE ON SITE WHEN EMPLOYEES RESPOND TO VOMITTING OR DIARRHEAL EVENTS. INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN ON PREMISES ALL NECESSARY ITEMS FOR COMPLYING WITH WRITTEN PROCEDURE WHEN EMPLOYEES RESPOND TO VOMITTING OR DIARRHEAL EVENTS. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • OBSERVED OPENINGS AT BASE OF FRONT ENTRANCE OUTER DOOR. INSTRUCTED TO SEAL ALL OUTER OPENINGS TO PREVENT PEST ENTRANCE.
• ⚠️Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • OBSERVED NO RIGHT SPLASH GUARD INSTALLED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF DRAIN BOARD OF SANITIZER COMPARTMENT OF THREE COMPARTMENT SINK NEXT TO UTILITY SINK. INSTRUCTED TO INSTALL RIGHT SPLASH GUARD ON THE RIGHTSIDE OF DRAIN BOARD OF SANITIZER COMPARTMENT OF THREE COMPARTMENT SINK NEXT TO UTILITY SINK TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION OF SANITIZED UTENSILS AND EQUIPMENT.
  Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • OBSERVED NO RIGHT SPLASH GUARD INSTALLED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF DRAIN BOARD OF SANITIZER COMPARTMENT OF THREE COMPARTMENT SINK NEXT TO UTILITY SINK. INSTRUCTED TO INSTALL RIGHT SPLASH GUARD ON THE RIGHTSIDE OF DRAIN BOARD OF SANITIZER COMPARTMENT OF THREE COMPARTMENT SINK NEXT TO UTILITY SINK TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION OF SANITIZED UTENSILS AND EQUIPMENT.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED PLASTIC FILM ON TOP AND BOTTOM OF PREP TABLE CLOSE TO REAR EXIT. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE PLASTIC FILM ON TOP AND BOTTOM OF PREP TABLE CLOSE TO REAR EXIT, NON FOOD CONTACT SURFACES SHALL BE CONSTRUCTED OF A CORROSION-RESISTANT, NONABSORBENT AND SMOOTH MATERIAL.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • OBSERVED LEAKING FROM DRAINPIPE UNDERNEATH RINSE COMPARTMENT OF THREE COMPARTMENT SINK. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR LEAKING DRAINPIPE UNDERNEATH THREE COMPARTMENT SINK AND MAINTAIN. • UNABLE TO LOCATE BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICE ON UTILITY SINK. INSTRUCTED TO INSTALL BACKFLOW PREVENTION DEVICE ON UTILITY SINK SO THAT IT SHALL BE LOCATED SO THAT IT MAY BE SERVICED AND MAINTAINED.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED DAMAGED AND MISSING FLOOR TILES THROUGHOUT PREP/DISHWASHING AREA. INSTRUCTED TO SMOOTHLY REPAIR OR REPLACE ALL DAMAGED OR MISSING FLOOR TILES IN FACILITY FOR EASE OF CLEANABILITY.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED NO MECHANICAL VENTILATION INSTALLED IN ALL GENDER WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED TO INSTALL MECHANICAL VENTILATION OF SUFFICIENT CAPACITY IN ALL GENDER WASHROOM.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • OBSERVED NO MECHANICAL VENTILATION INSTALLED IN ALL GENDER WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED TO INSTALL MECHANICAL VENTILATION OF SUFFICIENT CAPACITY IN ALL GENDER WASHROOM.

When was Tamaleria Lupita last inspected?

Tamaleria Lupita has 1 inspection on record going back to April 3, 2026.

Tamaleria Lupita vs Brighton Park

Brighton Park runs 38% clean across 402 tracked restaurants — 150 clean, 38 mid, 212 cooked.

Against the 402 spots Cooked tracks in Brighton Park, this one comes out cleaner than 56% of them.

Other spots in Brighton Park

• ✓ La Michoacana Brighton Park Corp.,
  clean · June 3, 2026
• ✓ Barbacoa & Carnitas Don Chepe Inc.
  clean · May 27, 2026
• ✓ Taqueria San Julian
  clean · June 9, 2026
• ✓ La Costa
  clean · July 8, 2026
• ✓ La Costa
  clean · July 8, 2026
• ✓! La Iguanita
  mid · July 6, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Brighton 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 April 3, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.