Thimi's Empanadas

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations0
• last inspectedApril 9, 2025
• address1247 S Western Ave, Chicago 60608

Is Thimi's Empanadas clean?

Thimi's Empanadas is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on April 9, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Thimi's Empanadas?

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

• ⚠️Time As A Public Health Control; Procedures & Records • 3-501.19 OBSERVED FACILITY USING TIME AS A TEMPERATURE CONTROL WITHOUT ADEQUATE LOGS. INSTRUCTED TO ALWAYS PROVIDE ADEQUATE LOGS WITH THE NAME OF THE PRODUCT, THE INITIAL TEMPERATURE OF THE PRODUCT, THE TIME THE PRODUCT WAS REMOVED FROM THE OVEN, AND THE TIME THE PRODUCT MUST BE DISCARDED. MANAGER DISCARDED AND DENATURED SAID TCS FOODS DURING THE INSPECTION. 100LBS OF EMPANADAS AT INADEQUATE HOT HOLDING TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 64F-73F, DISCARDED, VALUED AT $350. PRIORITY FOUNDATION. CITATION ISSUED 7-38-005.
  Time As A Public Health Control; Procedures & Records • 3-501.19 OBSERVED FACILITY USING TIME AS A TEMPERATURE CONTROL WITHOUT ADEQUATE LOGS. INSTRUCTED TO ALWAYS PROVIDE ADEQUATE LOGS WITH THE NAME OF THE PRODUCT, THE INITIAL TEMPERATURE OF THE PRODUCT, THE TIME THE PRODUCT WAS REMOVED FROM THE OVEN, AND THE TIME THE PRODUCT MUST BE DISCARDED. MANAGER DISCARDED AND DENATURED SAID TCS FOODS DURING THE INSPECTION. 100LBS OF EMPANADAS AT INADEQUATE HOT HOLDING TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 64F-73F, DISCARDED, VALUED AT $350. PRIORITY FOUNDATION. CITATION ISSUED 7-38-005.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • 2-402.11 OBSERVED THE MANAGER IN THE FOOD PREP AREA WITHOUT A HAIR NET/RESTRAINT SUCH AS A CAP. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE FOR ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE FOOD PREP AREA.
  Personal Cleanliness • 2-402.11 OBSERVED THE MANAGER IN THE FOOD PREP AREA WITHOUT A HAIR NET/RESTRAINT SUCH AS A CAP. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE FOR ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE FOOD PREP AREA.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • 5-205.15 OBSERVED THE COLD-WATER KNOB UNABLE TO TURN ON PROPERLY AT THE HAND WASHING SINK. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • 6-501.114 OBSERVED CLUTTER IN THE BASEMENT AND ITEMS STORED ON THE FLOOR. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE UNNECESSARY CLUTTER, ORGANIZE AND ELEVATE EVERYTHING AT LEAST 6 INCHES FROM THE GROUND.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • 2-102.13 OBSERVED A MALE FOOD HANDLER (NEW HIRE) WITHOUT A FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED TO OBTAIN FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATE WITHIN 30 DAYS OF HIRE.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • 2-102.13 OBSERVED A MALE FOOD HANDLER (NEW HIRE) WITHOUT A FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED TO OBTAIN FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATE WITHIN 30 DAYS OF HIRE.

When was Thimi's Empanadas last inspected?

Thimi's Empanadas has 4 inspections on record going back to September 13, 2023.

Thimi's Empanadas vs East Garfield Park

East Garfield Park runs 66% clean across 510 tracked restaurants — 336 clean, 87 mid, 85 cooked.

Against the 510 spots Cooked tracks in East Garfield Park, this one comes out cleaner than 61% of them.

Other spots in East Garfield Park

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  clean · December 2, 2025
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• ✓! Three Brothers Food Mart
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• ✓ Bp
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See every restaurant inspection in East Garfield 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 9, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.