Cafe Libra

No violations were recorded at this inspection.

1. Jul 1, 2026 Fail

   Canvass · Fail

   3 critical9 general Show violations

   • CriticalHygiene & sanitation

     Hand sinks were missing, blocked, or not stocked with soap and towels.

     Inspector’s note: Noted paper towels at the hand wash sinks of the rear prep and basement food prep area. Instructed to have soap and paper towels at all hand washing sinks. Priority foundation. Violation #7-38-030(c). Citation issued.

     Official wording (code 10)

     Adequate handwashing sinks properly supplied and accessible

   • CriticalHygiene & sanitation

     Hand sinks were missing, blocked, or not stocked with soap and towels.

     Inspector’s note: Noted no soap at the basement hand wash sink of the dish washing machine. Instructed to have soap and paper towels at all hand washing sinks. Priority foundation violation #7-38-030(c). Citation issued. Consolidated with above violations.

     Official wording (code 10)

     Adequate handwashing sinks properly supplied and accessible

   • CriticalFood handling

     No warning to customers about raw or undercooked food.

     Inspector’s note: Noted establishment serving undercooked food items (steaks and eggs) with no consumer advisory, disclosure or reminders to the customers. Instructed to have a consumer advisory on the menu with a disclosure notice and reminder statement. Priority foundation #7-38-005. Citation issued today.

     Official wording (code 25)

     Consumer advisory provided for raw/undercooked food

   • GeneralFood handling

     Food wasn’t labeled or wasn’t in its original container.

     Inspector’s note: Noted assorted food items inside refrigeration units not properly labeled. Instructed to properly label all food items with product name including bulk food containers.

     Official wording (code 37)

     Food properly labeled; original container

   • GeneralPests

     Insects, rodents, or animals were present, or the building wasn’t sealed against them.

     Inspector’s note: Noted over 20 rat droppings on floor of the basement food prep/dry storage instructed to detail clean and sanitize affected areas, eliminate pest activity. Instructed to consult with pest control company and have premises treated. Priority foundation violation#7-38-020(a). Citation issued.

     Official wording (code 38)

     Insects, rodents, & animals not present

   • GeneralFood handling

     Food wasn’t protected from contamination during prep, storage, or display.

     Inspector’s note: Noted food containers stored on floor in prep, storage and walk-in cooler/freezers. Must provide proper, raised shelving to store food containers 6" off floor.

     Official wording (code 39)

     Contamination prevented during food preparation, storage & display

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Equipment or surfaces were in poor repair or made of material that can’t be cleaned.

     Inspector’s note: Noted ice build up inside ice cream chest freezers. Instructed to defrost, clean and maintain units.

     Official wording (code 47)

     Food & non-food contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed & used

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Dishwashing equipment wasn’t set up, maintained, or used correctly.

     Inspector’s note: Noted a large mixing bowl unable to fit inside the 3 compartment sinks for proper washing, rinsing and sanitizing. Instructed to provide a procedure for proper washing and sanitizing of equipment or remove equipment.(large pots and pans)

     Official wording (code 48)

     Warewashing facilities: installed, maintained & used; test strips

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Equipment and surfaces were dirty.

     Inspector’s note: Instructed to clean and maintain all shelves and counter tops of equipment at the rear food prep area and basement food/dry storage area.

     Official wording (code 49)

     Non-food/food contact surfaces clean

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Floors, walls, or ceilings were damaged or dirty.

     Inspector’s note: Instructed to detail clean and maintain floors at the following areas:- floors underneath cooking stove and fryers at the first floor prep area, floors inside the walk in cooler with food spills and liquid, floors through out the basement dry storage. Must clean and sanitze areas where rat droppings were found.

     Official wording (code 55)

     Physical facilities installed, maintained & clean

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Floors, walls, or ceilings were damaged or dirty.

     Inspector’s note: Noted heavy clutter basement food/dry storage areas on shelves and inside the dry storage rooms of the basement food/dry storage rooms. Instructed to detail clean, organize and remove all unnecessary or unused articles and equipment to prevent hiding places for pest.

     Official wording (code 55)

     Physical facilities installed, maintained & clean

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Ventilation or lighting was inadequate.

     Inspector’s note: Noted heavy dirt and grease accumulation inside, on pipes/conduits and on edges of the exhaust hood and filters above cooking equipment. Instructed to detail clean and maintain hood, filters and pipes/conduits.

     Official wording (code 56)

     Adequate ventilation & lighting; designated areas used

2. May 9, 2025 Pass

   Canvass · Pass

   2 general1 paperwork Show violations

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Equipment or surfaces were in poor repair or made of material that can’t be cleaned.

     Inspector’s note: Observed aluminum foil being used as a liner on top of grease trap in the upstair dishwashing area. Instructed to remove aluminum foil from grease trap so that surface is smooth, durable, and easily cleanable.

     Official wording (code 47)

     Food & non-food contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed & used

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Ventilation or lighting was inadequate.

     Inspector’s note: Observed low lighting in the walk-in freezer in the basement, and in the upstairs customer restroom. Instructed to provide sufficient lighting and maintain.

     Official wording (code 56)

     Adequate ventilation & lighting; designated areas used

   • PaperworkManagement & training

     Not all food employees had food-handler training.

     Inspector’s note: Unable to locate and verify food handler certificates during inspection. Must provide and keep certificates on site.

     Official wording (code 57)

     All food employees have food handler training

3. Jun 5, 2024 Conditional

   License · Pass w/ Conditions

   1 critical5 general1 paperwork Show violations

   • CriticalManagement & training

     Staff weren’t trained on, or didn’t follow, the rules for reporting illness.

     Inspector’s note: Found no employee health policy/training on site. Instructed to provide a signed employee health policy for each employee. Priority foundation violation 7-38-010

     Official wording (code 3)

     Management, food employee and conditional employee; knowledge, responsibilities and reporting

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Equipment or surfaces were in poor repair or made of material that can’t be cleaned.

     Inspector’s note: Instructed to refinish or replace cutting boards with stain and deep seams on top of prep cooler and next to the cooking equipment in rear prep/cooking area.

     Official wording (code 47)

     Food & non-food contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed & used

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Equipment or surfaces were in poor repair or made of material that can’t be cleaned.

     Inspector’s note: Instructed to seal/paint raw wood panel behind prep table in rear prep/cooking area.

     Official wording (code 47)

     Food & non-food contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed & used

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Plumbing problems, or missing protection against backflow.

     Inspector’s note: Backflow preventer device not located behind the ice machine in the basement. Instructed to install so that it can be located to be serviced and maintained.

     Official wording (code 51)

     Plumbing installed; proper backflow devices

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Floors, walls, or ceilings were damaged or dirty.

     Inspector’s note: Brick wall behind coffee machine and capuccino machine the cafe bar area needs to be finished and sealed, must provide a smooth, nonabsorbent and easily cleanable surface.

     Official wording (code 55)

     Physical facilities installed, maintained & clean

   • GeneralFacility upkeep

     Floors, walls, or ceilings were damaged or dirty.

     Inspector’s note: Instructed to clean, remove unnecessary articles (pipes, vents, unused equipment etc) stored in the basement rear storage area to prevent pest harborage. Observed unused dishmachine in rear prep/dishwashing area. Instructed to remove.

     Official wording (code 55)

     Physical facilities installed, maintained & clean

   • PaperworkManagement & training

     Required allergen training was missing.

     Inspector’s note: Certified food manager without an allergen training certificate. Instructed management, any person with city of chicago food service sanitation certificate to comply with allergen training certification.

     Official wording (code 58)

     Allergen training as required

4. Feb 14, 2024 Not Ready

   License · Not Ready

   No violations