Behind the Kitchen Door: West Side Chinese restaurant gets low health score again

Repeat violations continue to plague Beijing Express on Marbach Rd.

SAN ANTONIO – Beijing Express in the 8000 block of Marbach Road on the West Side got a nearly failing score of 70 on its latest health inspection last month.

It was the latest in a long string of low scores, all of them in the 70s. You have to go all the way back to September 25, 2019, to find a score above 80. The business got an 82 on that inspection.


Beijing Express Previous Scores:

10/25/2022 -- 79

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03/24/2022 -- 78

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12/20/2021 -- 75

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08/09/2021 -- 76

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04/13/2021 -- 79

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07/31/2020 -- 75

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01/27/20 - 78

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09/25/2019 -- 82

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05/30/2019 -- 84


When the health inspector visited in February 2023, she found all kinds of violations, including eight repeats from a prior inspection.

According to the report, a worker was seen preparing raw beef on a prep table right next to cooked pork.

Another worker didn’t change their gloves or wash their hands after marinating raw beef. In fact, the inspector wrote she didn’t see any hand washing by employees during the nearly two-hour inspection. The business was cited for the same violation in October.

A black mold-like build-up in the ice machine was also a repeat violation.

Bleach and other chemicals were found stored next to buckets of soy sauce on the floor. The inspector also found food storage containers of soy sauce and fresh soup being kept on the floor throughout the business. That food was also uncovered.

On a positive note, the inspector made no mention of any pest problems. That’s an improvement from last October. During that inspection, there were “multiple dead roaches throughout the establishment,” and a back door was “left wide open.”

This time around, the inspector noted she found a side door left open.

KSAT Investigates reporter Tim Gerber stopped by the business this week to ask some questions.

When employees came outside, they told Gerber they didn’t know why their scores were so low or if anything had been done to correct the violations.

The inspector ordered a re-inspection to occur within 10 business days and told them to have all violations corrected.

We’ll let you know what they find.

Score Guide:

100-90 = A (Very Good to Acceptable)

89-80 = B (Acceptable to Marginal)

79 or lower = C (Marginal to Poor)

*Metro Health indicates that scores of 69 or lower are failing scores



Want to know who has good scores and who doesn’t? KSAT 12 has a new tool for that.

Just click this link, and it will take you to a new mapping tool we have showing the recent scores for San Antonio food businesses.

The reports go back six months and are frequently updated.

You can catch Tim’s BKD reports Thursdays on the Nightbeat.

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Watch other Behind the Kitchen Door stories here

Behind the Kitchen Door image. (KSAT)

About the Authors:

Dale Keller is senior news photographer at KSAT-12.