Gnats, cockroaches lead Buford Highway Mexican restaurant to fail inspection

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — 12/21/2018 UPDATE: The restaurant has been reinspected and now has a score of 73.

A Mexican restaurant in busy Plaza Fiesta in DeKalb County has passed a health re-inspection after failing just a few days ago.

The owner of Barbacoa Mexicana on Buford Highway in Chamblee told us he feels terrible that the restaurant failed and says he is determined to do better.

Jorge Zambrano says he is totally disappointed. He says his wife cried when she saw the score of 58 that the health inspector issued on Dec. 11.

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The violations included live cockroaches and gnats, knives stored as clean that were actually dirty to sight and touch and multiple food items that were not held at cold enough temperatures.

Zambrano says they didn’t know the freezer was bad. When he checked the temperature he realized it was not running properly and fixed it.

He says he and the staff have fixed the violations.

Barbacoa Mexicana failed a health inspection last year with a score of 66. It got a re-inspection Thursday after the recent failure and received a 73, which is a passing score.

Zambrano says he is determined to keep improving and hopes to get a much higher score in the future. He says they won’t let a failure happen again.

Cox Media Group