The Avondale Coffee Club

• resultFail
• critical violations2
• last inspectedDecember 16, 2025
• address3185 N Elston Ave, Chicago 60618

Is The Avondale Coffee Club clean?

The Avondale Coffee Club is currently Fail from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on December 16, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at The Avondale Coffee Club?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 16, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋no certified food manager on dutycritical
  Person In Charge Present, Demonstrates Knowledge, And Performs Duties • OBSERVED PERSON-IN-CHARGE WITHOUT CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER CERTIFICATE ON-SITE AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN AT LEAST ONE PERSON-IN-CHARGE WITH CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER CERTIFICATE ON-SITE AND AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTOR REVIEW AT ALL TIMES OF FOOD OPERATIONS.
• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • OBSERVED NO FOOD EMPLOYEE ON-SITE WITH CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER TRAINING OR ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE ON-SITE WHILE TCS FOOD ITEMS (SANDWICHES, MILK BEVERAGES) ARE BEING PREPARED AND SERVED. INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN AT LEAST ONE FOOD EMPLOYEE WITH CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER CERTIFICATE ON-SITE DURING FOOD OPERATIONS AND MAINTAIN ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE ON-SITE, POSTED IN A CONSPICUOUS LOCATION, AND AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTOR REVIEW AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-012 CITATION ISSUED.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • OBSERVED PEST CONTROL LOG BOOK PROVIDED ON-SITE INCOMPLETE, MISSING ALL PEST CONTROL REPORTS FROM 2024 AND 2025 (ONLY REPORT PROVIDED DATED JUNE 2022). INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE PEST CONTROL LOG BOOK WITH ALL PEST CONTROL SERVICE REPORTS AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED BY THE LAW AND MAINTAIN ON-SITE AND AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTOR REVIEW AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-020(C) CITATION ISSUED.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED MILK CRATES IN THE BASEMENT DRY STORAGE AREA USED TO ELEVATE UTENSILS AND FOOD CONTAINER BOXES. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE MILK CRATES AND REPLACE WITH ELEVATED EQUIPMENT THAT MAINTAINS FOOD AND UTENSILS AT LEAST 6" ABOVE THE FLOOR AND FACILITATES CLEANING BENEATH EQUIPMENT AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED FLOORS IN THE FURNACE CLOSET ROOM TO BE SOILED WITH DRIED FOOD DEBRIS. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN FLOORS BENEATH EQUIPMENT AND OTHER PHYSICAL FACILITIES AT ADEQUATE FREQUECY TO PREVENT BUILD UP OF DRIED FOOD DEBRIS AND OTHER SOILS AND MAINTAIN.

When was The Avondale Coffee Club last inspected?

The Avondale Coffee Club has 7 inspections on record going back to February 17, 2021.

The Avondale Coffee Club vs Avondale

Avondale runs 64% clean across 679 tracked restaurants — 432 clean, 111 mid, 133 cooked.

Against the 679 spots Cooked tracks in Avondale, this one comes out cleaner than 18% of them.

Other spots in Avondale

• ? Kennedy Mobil Inc
  cooked · December 3, 2014
• ✓ En Passant
  clean · April 5, 2021
• ✓ Big Mouths Steaks & Subs
  clean · April 2, 2021
• ✓! Souk Mediterranean Grill
  mid · October 4, 2024
• ✓ Con Todo
  clean · October 12, 2022
• ✓ Con Todo
  clean · December 6, 2021

See every restaurant inspection in Avondale →

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 December 16, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.