The Woodlawn

• resultPass
• critical violations1
• last inspectedMay 9, 2025
• address7857 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago 60619

Is The Woodlawn clean?

The Woodlawn is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 9, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at The Woodlawn?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 9, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED NO HAND WASHING SIGNS AT HAND WASHING SINKS IN PREP AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE HAND WASHING SIGNS AT ALL HAND WASHNG SINKS USED BY EMPLOYEES.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED RAW WOOD SHELVING AND SURFACES IN BOTH PREP AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO SEAL ALL RAW WOOD SURFACES TO MAKE SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • OBSERVED LEAKING FAUCET ON 3-COMPARTMENT SINK IN EAST PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED FOOD SPILLS AND SPLATTER ON WALLS IN PREP AREA, DUST, DIRT AND DEBRIS ON FLOORS IN PREP AREA, AND IN CEILING OF BASEMENT STORAGE AREA. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. • OBSERVED CEILING NOT SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE IN BASEMENT STORAGE AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN. OBSERVED MISSING OUTLET COVERS ALONG WALLS IN PREP AND DINING AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO REPLACE AND MAINTAIN.

When was The Woodlawn last inspected?

The Woodlawn has 14 inspections on record going back to October 15, 2018. The 12 most recent are shown below.

The Woodlawn vs Avalon Park

Avalon Park runs 72% clean across 334 tracked restaurants — 238 clean, 53 mid, 40 cooked.

Against the 334 spots Cooked tracks in Avalon Park, this one comes out cleaner than 28% of them.

Other spots in Avalon Park

• ✕ Jerk Palace Hub
  cooked · June 28, 2023
• ✓! Brooklin Chicken & Grill
  mid · February 5, 2019
• ✓! Yado African And Carribean Market
  mid · April 4, 2019
• ✓! Prime Time
  mid · June 25, 2019
• ✓! Prime Time
  mid · June 25, 2019
• ✓ A.P. Deli
  clean · July 10, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in Avalon 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 May 9, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.