Cooked?
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
- resultPass w/ Conditions
- critical violations2
- last inspectedOctober 17, 2025
- address24 E Madison St, Chicago 60602
Is Tropical Smoothie Cafe clean?
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on October 17, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.
What did inspectors find at Tropical Smoothie Cafe?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 17, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🤒staff working while sickcriticalProcedures For Responding To Vomiting And Diarrheal Events • OBSERVED ALL NECESSARY ITEMS(DISINFECTANT EFFECTIVE AGAINST NOROVIRUS) NOT ON PREMISES FOR COMPLYING WITH PROCEDURE AVAILABLE ON SITE WHEN EMPLOYEES RESPOND TO VOMITTING OR DIARRHEAL EVENTS. INSTRUCTED TO FOLLOW WRITTEN PROCEDURE FOR EMPLOYEES TO FOLLOW WHEN RESPONDING TO VOMITTING OR DIARRHEAL EVENTS. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION.
- 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecriticalAdequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED NO HANDWASHING SIGNAGE AT HANDWASHING SINKS IN FACILITY. OBSEVED NO HANDWASHING SIGNAGE AT HANDWASHING SINKS IN FRONT PREP AREA AND REAR PREP/DISHWASHING AREA. INSTRUCTED TO POST CLEARLY VISIBLE SIGNAGE AT ALL HANDWASHING SINKS USED BY FOOD EMPLOYEES THAT NOTIFIES FOOD EMPLOYEES TO WASH THEIR HANDS.
- 🪳pests in the houseInsects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • OBSERVED OPENING IN MIDDLE OF AND AT BASE OF BOTH FRONT ENTRANCE DOUBLE DOORS. INSTRUCTED TO SEAL ALL OUTER OPENINGS TO PREVENT PEST ENTRANCE.
- ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED HANDLE OF PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER INSTALLED PARTIALLY ABOVE ONE COMPARTENT SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA ACROSS FROM POS SYSTEM. INSTRUCTED FACILITY TO RELOCATE PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER SO THAT FOOD OR EQUIPMENT IN ONE COMPARTENT SINK DOESN'T BECOME CONTAMINATED FROM EMPLOYEES DRIPPING HANDS AFTER HANDWASHING.Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED HANDLE OF PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER INSTALLED PARTIALLY ABOVE ONE COMPARTENT SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA ACROSS FROM POS SYSTEM. INSTRUCTED FACILITY TO RELOCATE PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER SO THAT FOOD OR EQUIPMENT IN ONE COMPARTENT SINK DOESN'T BECOME CONTAMINATED FROM EMPLOYEES DRIPPING HANDS AFTER HANDWASHING.
When was Tropical Smoothie Cafe last inspected?
Tropical Smoothie Cafe has 1 inspection on record going back to October 17, 2025.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| October 17, 2025 | Pass w/ Conditions |
Tropical Smoothie Cafe vs Loop
Loop runs 44% clean across 3,616 tracked restaurants — 1,566 clean, 332 mid, 1,687 cooked.
Against the 3,616 spots Cooked tracks in Loop, this one comes out cleaner than 48% of them.
Other spots in Loop
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 October 17, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.