Two Santa Clara County food facilities were ordered closed Tuesday after health inspectors cited the same food-safety concern: food subject to contamination from vermin. Vermin Closes Two Santa Clara Food Facilities in Cupertino and San Jose, according to the county’s official SCCDineOut closure records. The Sept. 15 entries involve Kong Tofu & BBQ in Cupertino and the food facility listed as LHCF – White Blossom Care Center in San Jose. When PestMarket reviewed the county’s closure list Wednesday morning, no reopening date was shown for either Sept. 15 entry. The public record also does not identify whether the vermin involved were cockroaches, rodents or another pest, so PestMarket is not assigning a specific species to either closure.
Kong Tofu & BBQ Closed in Cupertino
Kong Tofu & BBQ, located at 19626 Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, appears on the county’s Sept. 15 closure list with the reason stated as “Food is subject to contamination from vermin.” The public closure entry does not provide enough information to determine what pest was involved, how much activity inspectors observed or what part of the restaurant was affected. That distinction is important because a closure involving vermin can result from different conditions and should not automatically be described as a cockroach or rodent infestation without inspection details supporting that conclusion. Anyone checking whether the restaurant has since reopened should use the county’s current food facility closure page, since operating status can change after corrective action and reinspection.
White Blossom Care Center Food Facility Also Closed
The second closure listed for Sept. 15 involves LHCF – White Blossom Care Center at 1990 Fruitdale Avenue in San Jose. Santa Clara County gives the same official reason: food subject to contamination from vermin. It is important to describe this entry carefully. The county record concerns the regulated food facility associated with the address; it does not establish that the entire care center or its medical and residential operations were shut down. As with Kong Tofu & BBQ, the public closure listing does not identify the pest species or provide enough detail to characterize the extent of the problem. PestMarket will continue using the county’s wording unless a more detailed inspection record becomes publicly available.
Why Vermin Around Food Is Taken Seriously
Pests inside a food facility can create more than an unpleasant sight for customers. Rodents and cockroaches can move through garbage, drains, contaminated surfaces and food-storage areas, creating opportunities for food, utensils and food-contact surfaces to become contaminated. Santa Clara County’s Department of Environmental Health specifically includes keeping vermin out among the structural and sanitation goals for permitted food facilities, alongside preventing contamination and maintaining safe food temperatures. The county also maintains dedicated food-safety materials addressing both cockroach and rodent elimination, showing that pest exclusion and control are established parts of its food-safety program. Readers can review those resources through the county’s food safety library.
The County Has Not Identified the Pest
It can be tempting to see the word “vermin” in a closure notice and assume inspectors found rats or cockroaches, but that would be speculation in these two cases. Santa Clara County’s current public closure records state only that food was subject to contamination from vermin. Until a detailed inspection report identifies the organism involved, the responsible way to report the story is to leave the pest unspecified. This matters especially with restaurant-closure stories because an image, headline or social post showing a particular pest can unintentionally imply that officials confirmed something they did not. For that reason, PestMarket’s coverage and accompanying imagery should describe these as vermin-related closures rather than confirmed rodent or cockroach infestations.
What Happens Before a Food Facility Can Reopen?
A health closure is not necessarily permanent. Food facilities can address the conditions that led to closure and undergo additional review before returning to operation. That can involve pest-control work, cleaning and sanitizing affected areas, removing contaminated food, repairing structural openings or correcting other sanitation problems identified during an inspection. Santa Clara County’s food-facility program evaluates whether facilities comply with California Retail Food Code requirements, including preventing contamination and keeping pests out. Because reopening information can change quickly after a closure, the safest source for current status is the county’s own food inspection and closure system, rather than an older news story or social-media post.
What PestMarket Will Watch Next
The main question now is whether Santa Clara County posts reopening dates for either facility and whether more detailed inspection reports clarify what inspectors found. If either location is cleared to reopen, PestMarket will treat that as a status update rather than continuing to describe it as currently closed. The same standard applies to the pest itself: unless an official source identifies cockroaches, rodents or another species, the article will continue using the broader term “vermin.” Consumers who encounter suspected pest activity or other food-safety problems at a Santa Clara County facility can also use the county’s food-related complaint system, which accepts reports involving retail food facilities. For general information on common structural pests and prevention, visit the PestMarket Pest Control Guides.