Lane County Restaurant Inspections Find Rodent Activity, Food Safety Violations

The Pink House, a Cottage Grove restaurant at 1408 E. Main St., turned up some of the most serious findings in Lane County's latest round of health inspections: rodent droppings, hairs and evidence of nesting documented across the facility, along with rodent bait stored outside secure bait stations and a dishwashing chemical found without proper labeling.

Those violations, documented by Lane County Health Department inspectors during March and early April 2026, represent priority and priority-foundation citations under the county's 100-point scoring system. Priority violations carry a five-point deduction each; priority-foundation violations cost three points. The categories exist because such failures create direct risk of foodborne illness or chemical contamination.

The Pink House was not alone. A Junction City warehouse being used for mobile food-unit preparation drew deductions during the same inspection period, and a separate food truck inspection found employees were not washing their hands as required, a basic sanitation step that health officials treat as non-negotiable.

Interpreting scores posted in Lane County's public inspection database comes with a caveat right now: the county acknowledged a software bug in its health inspections system that can prevent repeat violations from being tallied automatically. Some displayed scores may not correctly sum to 100 until the county patches the issue, potentially understating the severity of violations at specific locations.

Lane County inspects licensed food facilities throughout Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Florence and Junction City. Full inspection records, including scores and violation details, are searchable through the county's online inspection viewer and interactive map on the Lane County Health Department's website. Under county policy, businesses cited for priority violations are subject to re-inspection or required follow-up until each violation has been corrected.

For the restaurants cited this cycle, the correction list is concrete: seal entry points, move rodent bait into locked stations, label every chemical container and restore hand-washing access. How quickly those steps happen determines whether the violations stay on the record, and whether inspectors return.