Company CEO visits Interquest pizzeria after failed health inspection

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Anyone who thought the chain restaurants only get great scores on their health inspections-- while local restaurants don't-- may re-think that after reading this week’s Restaurant Roundup report. 

Just two restaurants didn't pass their health inspections last week. 

One of them is the Clearview Food Mart at the corner of Yucatan Drive and the Hancock Expressway in south Colorado Springs. 

The food mart is more of a convenience store but houses a Champs Chicken inside. 

Among the 10 violations found, an employee was seen handling raw fish and then utensils without changing gloves. Raw fish and raw chicken were stored on the floor of the cooler instead of above the floor, and there was also no thermometer anywhere.

KRDO13 reached an employee over the phone, but the employee declined to make a comment or pass along our request for comment to the owner.

The low score of the week is the Parry's Pizzeria and Taphouse on Interquest, with a total of 12 violations. 

During their visit, the inspector witnessed a worker not using soap when washing their hands, and also not scrubbing for at least 10-15 seconds. 

Another employee used their bare hands to put celery on a plate, and the inspector also spotted a worker handling raw meat and then touching ready-to-eat lettuce without changing gloves or washing hands. 

The back door was also open, which is not allowed during non-delivery times, to ensure insects and rodents don’t get inside. 

KRDO13 went to Parry's to ask about the failing grade. 

The manager on duty admitted some of the staff members on the day of the inspection weren't following the proper procedures, but emphasized that food safety has always been a priority at the restaurant. 

That was proven the day after KRDO13’s visit when the CEO of all 30+ Parry's locations in 4 states came to Colorado Springs and spent several hours at the Interquest location. 

The company sent KRDO13 a statement saying they did a complete 100% retraining of the entire kitchen staff.

“We acknowledge the importance of these findings, and immediately took the necessary steps to address them, including making required changes and providing additional training to our staff,” it reads. 

During the re-inspection on February 12, Parry’s passed with only four violations. 

On the flip side, several restaurants earned a perfect or near-perfect score on their inspections. 

They include the Chick-fil-A on Dublin near Powers. 

Two Puerto Rican restaurants also made the high-score list. They are the Tripletas Yeyo Will on Lashelle Way and the Don Guillo at the intersection of Delta and Hancock. 

KRDO13 visited Don Guillo to present the Top Score award. 

The owner and chef, Francisco Beauchamp, moved to Colorado from Puerto Rico 9 years ago and says he made food safety a priority from the beginning. 

“I love to eat in clean places,” he said. “So that's the same thing I'm going to give to my customers.” 

The cleanliness is served in the form of carne fita, mofongo, skirt steak, and other classic island dishes that have blended together over hundreds of years. 

“Puerto Rican food is culture.  It's culture.  When you eat Puerto Rican food, you get all the cultures, African, Spaniard, and Taino, which is our Indian tribe that we have in Puerto Rico. All of those flavors, all of those cultures come together, and they make up our food that is Puerto Rican. 

Keep an eye out for the KRDO13 Restaurant Roundup awards at your favorite restaurant so you know the kitchen inside is clean.