Casa Vega, the iconic Mexican restaurant that opened in Sherman Oaks back in 1956, was temporarily shut down by the health department on May 2. A slew of violations brought the restaurant’s score to an 84, giving it a B grade, but it was one major violation that forced permit suspension.
A #23 violation for rodents, insects, birds, or animals is on public record on the Department of Public Health’s website, with a tipster writing in to share the shutter was a result of a cockroach problem. According to the health department’s Retail Food Inspection Guide, “a cockroach infestation as evidenced by one or more live cockroaches in the food preparation, food storage, warewashing, indoor customer dining area, or restrooms,” results in immediate closure.
Casa Vega was also docked for not having proper food safety certification in the kitchen, along with several minor “good retail practice infractions.” Casa Vega closed after the inspection and reopened shortly thereafter on May 4.
To their credit, the restaurant closed yesterday to fully gut the back of house and kitchen area that is far older than that of most of its peers. The restaurant explained that two roaches were found behind a burst pipe in the back storage room. Eater reached out to the restaurant and received the following statement:
Casa Vega briefly closed in early May to remedy a minor health department issue, which is now fully resolved. We take this situation extremely seriously and in addition to fixing the issue, we will also be undergoing a complete kitchen remodel to further update our 61-year-old restaurant. We will be updating our entire kitchen with completely new equipment as a continuation of our commitment to provide the best possible experience for our patrons, the local community, and our restaurant staff. Thank you for your patience.