San Diego County health inspectors once again documented major food safety violations at the Black Bear Diner in El Cajon during a routine inspection on August 6, resulting in the restaurant being listed as "Ordered Closed" in inspection records maintained by the County Department of Environmental Health and Quality.
According to the county's inspection report, inspectors identified a major vermin violation, along with minor violations involving holding temperatures and hot and cold water. The restaurant was also cited for multiple out-of-compliance conditions involving nonfood-contact surface cleanliness, equipment and utensil storage, and premises maintenance and exclusion measures.
County inspectors reportedly returned later the same day for a site investigation and documented no remaining violations. Franchise owner Karan Gogri, however, disputes any characterization that the restaurant remained closed following the inspection, stating the business was operating and contending the county's publicly available records are inaccurate regarding its closure status.
The latest inspection marks the fourth "Ordered Closed" entry for the El Cajon restaurant since it opened. County records show the location was first ordered closed on February 21, 2023, after inspectors documented major holding temperature and food-contact surface violations. It was listed as closed again on November 5, 2024, because of a major sewage disposal violation. On March 23, 2026, inspectors again ordered the restaurant closed after finding major vermin and holding temperature violations. Less than two weeks later, on April 6, the restaurant was again listed as ordered closed during a site investigation after inspectors documented another major vermin violation.
Even between closures, inspection reports reveal recurring concerns. Over the past several years, county inspectors have repeatedly cited the restaurant for minor vermin activity, improper holding temperatures, equipment storage deficiencies, sanitation issues, facility maintenance concerns, plumbing problems and other operational violations. Although follow-up inspections generally resulted in passing "A" grades after corrective action, the repeated closure entries are unusual compared with most restaurants operating in San Diego County.
The El Cajon inspection also follows problems at the franchise owner's second San Diego County location. On June 23, the Black Bear Diner in Vista, located at 605 West Vista Way, was listed as "Ordered Closed" just 28 days after opening after inspectors documented a major sewage disposal violation along with numerous additional sanitation and operational deficiencies. County records show that location was approved to reopen the following day after corrective actions were completed.
Combined, San Diego County inspection records contain five "Ordered Closed" entries across the two Black Bear Diner restaurants owned by local franchisee Karan Gogri. The latest inspection also comes just weeks after an unusual dispute involving SanDiegoVille's reporting on the Vista restaurant's health inspection.
On July 20, Instagram removed SanDiegoVille's post covering the Vista inspection after receiving a copyright infringement complaint. Meta's notice identified "Karan Gogri" and his email address as the reporting party and directed SanDiegoVille to contact him if it wished to have the complaint withdrawn. According to his professional biography, Gogri has been a Black Bear Diner franchisee and developer since 2014, has served as a Jack in the Box franchisee and director of operations since 2005, and has also been developing and operating Qdoba restaurants throughout California since 2020.
The removed Instagram post summarized publicly available county health inspection records regarding the Vista location and directed readers to SanDiegoVille's original news article. After being contacted, Gogri unequivocally denied personally filing or authorizing the copyright complaint, stating that if someone used his name and email address to submit it, they did so without his knowledge or permission. He also said he has no explanation for how his information became associated with the complaint and indicated he would look into the matter. SanDiegoVille has not independently determined who submitted the complaint.
Gogri also challenged portions of this publication's reporting regarding the August 6 inspection, asserting that the restaurant was open following the county's inspection activity and that the county's publicly available records regarding the closure are inaccurate. SanDiegoVille's reporting regarding the restaurant's inspection history is based on records published by the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality.
Founded in Mount Shasta, California, in 1995, Black Bear Diner has grown to more than 150 locations across the United States and is known for its oversized breakfast platters, comfort-food menu and rustic lodge-themed restaurants.
Black Bear Diner is located at 1025 Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon. For more information, visit blackbeardiner.com.