Subway in Arcata, Guatemayan Yum Yums in Eureka Temporarily Closed Over Hazards

Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Division of Environmental Health temporarily suspended the operating permits of two food-service businesses after routine inspections on Feb. 18, 2026 found conditions the county described as immediate threats to public health. Inspectors ordered Subway at 686 I Street, Suite D, Arcata, and Guatemayan Yum Yums at 534 Fifth Street, Eureka, to cease operations until required corrections are completed and the facilities pass reinspection.

At the Arcata Subway, an inspector visited at 12:45 p.m. and documented “sewage backing up from floor sinks and drains throughout the facility.” The inspection report warned that such sewage overflow “can result in contamination of food contact surfaces and adulteration of food.” County staff promptly issued a shutdown notice and suspended the restaurant’s operating permit; the inspector wrote that the facility “may reopen when it has unclogged all drains and sanitized all surfaces.”

Just over an hour later, a separate inspector found multiple vermin violations at Guatemayan Yum Yums in Eureka. The report recorded “a live adult cockroach on the counter adjacent to the microwave in the food preparation area,” additional live cockroaches observed “underneath a three-compartment sink” and “in areas near plumbing,” and several dead cockroach bodies and droppings. The Guatemayan inspection summary cites the California Retail Food Code and describes the situation as an “imminent health hazard.” The facility’s operating permit was suspended and the report notes the business “will remain closed until reinspected and approved.”

Lost Coast Outpost’s account of the Guatemayan inspection adds that the eatery “is required to sanitize the entire facility and contract with a pest control service before reopening.” County summaries and the inspection paperwork require both establishments to correct the cited violations and pass reinspection before they are allowed to reopen.

The two closures came during routine visits by different DHHS inspectors on the same February day; LoCO’s timeline places the Subway inspection at 12:45 p.m. and the Guatemayan visit “just over an hour later.” Humboldt County’s Division of Environmental Health routinely conducts such inspections: in a related March 2025 case the division said facilities “get three random inspections a year,” a practice that led to a temporary closure of the 4th St. Market & Deli after inspectors found cockroach bodies and droppings.

Local social-media reaction included a repost of the county-driven coverage on the Redheaded Blackbelt page and a commenter, Kathy Frances, who wrote, “There is No Subway at 686 I Street in Arcata or Eureka for that matter,” a community-sourced claim that contradicts the address listed on the inspection reports and the county-based news accounts.

Both businesses remain closed pending repairs, sanitation and formal reinspection by Humboldt County DHHS Division of Environmental Health; the county’s procedures require documented correction of the cited hazards and a passing verification inspection before any permit suspension is lifted.