LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The place in this week's Dirty Dining is far from your typical gas station convenience store.
It's a mini-mart that serves up full family meals cooked on site, but according to health inspectors, it wasn't just human customers that were dining there.
The snack bar inside Peak Mart on Flamingo Road and El Capitan Way was shut down after inspectors followed up on a complaint about cockroaches.
The complainant described a "severe German cockroach infestation in the cooking area, behind the counter in cabinets, in the gaming, condiments and coffee area and in restrooms."
The inspector noted multiple violations and an imminent health hazard, so Peak Mart's snack bar was shut down on Sept. 16.
When we asked owner Edgar Garcia about the infestation, he said, "We don't really have that. It's just... just... I would say from the door they came in, possibly. I don't know."
The inspector did note that Peak Mart's front doors by the cash register have small gaps due to deteriorated weather stripping, allowing an entry point for pests.
But how they got in is just part of the problem.
Garcia said he disagreed with the health inspector and that there were only a few roaches near the water heater.
According to the health report, the inspector found roaches under the soda machines, near the coffee station, and the walk-in cooler, near the restrooms, and under the ice machine.
When we tried to question him further, Garcia said he was busy and walked away.
Other violations on the health inspection included raw chicken stored at room temperature. That was thrown out.
Scoop handles were touching customer ice so the ice had to be tossed out too.
Excessive grease, old food, and dirt soiled walls, ceilings, and the areas between and under fryers.
Peak Mart's snack bar reopened with 9-demerit A grade on Sept. 18.
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The highest demerits went to Rick's Cafe at the Westin Lake Las Vegas with a 37-demerit C grade for its front kitchen on Sept. 16.
Executive Chef Allain Vervil called the downgrade an "eye-opener" and something he says he'll never let happen again.
He said no one was in the dining room at the time, but admits they dropped the ball and had a bad day.
On that day, inspectors found multiple packages of expired mozzarella cheese that were three weeks past their best-by date. The chef said that's not the norm and it wouldn't have been served.
Affogato dessert made in-house with egg and cream was four days expired. The chef said that, like the cheese, was just missed during rotation and was thrown away.
Cut tomatoes, cut lettuce, sliced turkey, cooked chicken, cut spinach and blue cheese crumbles also had to be thrown out due to unsafe temperatures.
Washed raspberries were put back into their original container. The chef says all that has been rectified with the re-training of their new staff.
Also, there were no sanitizer buckets set up during active food prep. The chef said that was a mistake, it just slipped by and it's not the norm.
Rick's Cafe's front kitchen is scheduled for re-inspection on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
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Click here to see the health report for Rick's Cafe Front Kitchen.
Click here to see the health report for Peak Mart Snack Bar.
