After the temporary closure of a well-known restaurant at Westfield Valley Fair, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit looked at the recent inspection results involving Eataly Silicon Valley to see if the incident was isolated.
On Friday, Terra Restaurant and Bar, located inside Eataly, was closed for one day after an inspector found a live cockroach crawling above a handwashing station in the kitchen and dead cockroaches in a food preparation area. The inspector visited Eataly after receiving a tip about rats. Inspectors did not substantiate that report but did find the cockroaches.
An Eataly spokesperson said it “addressed the concerns identified and completed a thorough remediation in coordination with the health department.”
Reviewing the county health department’s inspections of Eataly over the past couple of years, the incident appears to be a one-off.
A total of 10 areas of Eataly get inspected on a regular basis, according to the Santa Clara County’s DineOut web app, where you can view food facility inspection results. Some of those areas include the third-floor restaurant, marketplace, bakery and pastry pizza coffee zone. Overall, the inspection results appear to be positive. Six out of the 10 areas have perfect scores of 100.
The lowest score of 84 is for Terra Restaurant and Bar from an inspection before the cockroach incident. The restaurant had some minor violations where inspectors said employees weren’t aware of proper handwashing procedures and a bar dishwasher leaked.
Last November, inspectors also found violations at Eataly’s pastry coffee pizza area, like hot food not having proper time stamps. In October, they found an ice machine inside Pipa Restaurant and Bar, another Eataly facility, had mold in it. Both inspections resulted in scores of 92.
These are all categorized as minor violations, unlike the cockroaches found on Friday that caused inspectors to close the restaurant immediately, allowing it to reopen the next day after a thorough cleaning.
“We have addressed the concerns identified and completed a thorough remediation in coordination with the health department,” Sarah Conboy, Communications Manager at Eataly North America told our Investigative Unit on Monday. “Terra has reopened, and we remain committed to providing a safe and welcoming experience for our guests and team, this has always been our top priority.”