OXNARD : Health Inspectors Close Restaurant

Health inspectors temporarily closed an Oxnard restaurant after they found rodent droppings, cockroaches and other unsanitary conditions on the floor and food preparation counters, according to a county health department report.

The droppings were observed at El Taco de Mexico restaurant at 2515 Ventura Blvd. on April 7, prompting a health official to close the facility.

The restaurant was reopened a few hours later after the owners cleaned it, according to a Ventura County Environmental Health Department report.

The owners called a commercial pest control agency to take care of the vermin problem, the report said. The owners also promised to quickly repair a walk-in refrigerator that was not working properly.

Owner Manny Sanoja was not available for comment, but a cashier at El Taco de Mexico said the restaurant is part of a countywide chain of five restaurants serving Mexican food.

An employee who refused to give her name said parts of the report were inaccurate.

“We had a fumigator come in, and he wrote a report saying there was no cockroach infestation,” she said.

She said that the owner had voluntarily closed the restaurant for a few hours to clean up, and that it was not closed by health inspectors.