June 25, 2026

3 Maricopa restaurant dinged by health inspectors

By Staff Reports
Apr 3, 2011

Raw meet stored next to produce, food with no expiration dates and cooked food not being held at proper temperatures were the main violations that caused Maricopa’s Great Wall Chinese restaurant to receive a score of “N” on its March health inspection.

“N” or “Needs Improvement” means that the health department will return to the restaurant in coming weeks for a follow up inspection. If the violations are not corrected at that time the establishment could face further sanction.

In addition to inspecting Great Wall, Pinal County Health inspectors looked looked at five other Maricopa restaurants handing out three perfect scores (E) and two scores of satisfactory (S).

Sunrise Cafe and Pepe’s Tacos earned scores of satisfactory, which is a less than perfect score.

Sunrise was dinged for not holding food at proper temperature, improper storage of serving utensils and personal items not being correctly stored.

Pepe’s was knocked for improper cooling and not holding foods at proper temperatures.

Health inspectors conduct random inspections aimed at ensuring all proper steps are taken to maintain consumer safety, Pinal County officials said. The department can issue violations that are either critical or non-critical.

Critical violations must be fixed within 10 days and affect a location’s score. Non-critical violations must be fixed within 90 days. Grades are based on the number of violations, with an “E” for excellent being the highest possible score. Other scores are “S” for satisfactory, “U” for unacceptable and “N” for needs improvement.

Restaurants receiving perfect scores were Headquarters Cafe, Mandos Mexican Food and Native New Yorker.