Cooked?
The Ark
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedApril 8, 2022
- address6450 N California Ave, Chicago 60645
Is The Ark clean?
The Ark is currently listed as closed by Chicago Department of Public Health, as of its inspection on April 8, 2022. 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 The Ark?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on April 8, 2022, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • ALL STORED ITEMS THROUGHOUT THE KITCHEN MUST BE ELEVATED FROM THE FLOORS.Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • ALL STORED ITEMS THROUGHOUT THE KITCHEN MUST BE ELEVATED FROM THE FLOORS.
- 🚿plumbing acting upNon-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • ALL SINKS THROUGHOUT THE KITCHEN MUST BE MAINTAINED CLEAN.
- 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimyPhysical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • FLOORS THROUGHOUT THE UNUSED KITCHEN MUST BE MAINTAINED CLEAN.----NOTED A WATER DAMAGED CEILING TILE ABOVE A PANTRY COOLER. MUST REPLACE.
When was The Ark last inspected?
The Ark has 11 inspections on record going back to April 14, 2011.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| October 25, 2023 | closed by the city | |
| April 8, 2022 | Pass | |
| June 12, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| November 23, 2018 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| May 2, 2017 | Pass | |
| June 30, 2016 | Pass | |
| August 17, 2015 | Pass | |
| July 18, 2014 | Pass | |
| September 30, 2013 | Pass | |
| June 20, 2012 | Pass | |
| April 14, 2011 | Pass |
The Ark vs West Ridge
West Ridge runs 29% clean across 966 tracked restaurants — 279 clean, 73 mid, 612 cooked.
Against the 966 spots Cooked tracks in West Ridge, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.
Other spots in West Ridge
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 8, 2022. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.