When you've successfully expanded your plant-based Mexican restaurant concept to six cities across two states, a health closure at one location lands differently than it does for your average corner spot. Jajaja Mexicana — the cult-favorite vegan Mexican chain with locations spanning Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and now Miami — has had its West Village outpost at 63 Carmine Street ordered closed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The closure follows three failed inspections in seven days, an escalating violation count, and a citation that indicates the restaurant didn't address problems fast enough between visits.
Three Inspections, Three Failures, One Week
The record at the NYC DOHMH's ABCEats restaurant inspection database tells a fairly grim story when you read it in sequence.
On March 19, inspectors visited and issued 46 points in violations: mice evidence, live roaches, food not protected from contamination, food contact surfaces not properly washed and sanitized, and harborage conditions. In New York's inspection scoring system — where lower is better and anything above 27 earns a "C" — 46 points is a failing grade by a comfortable margin.
The March 23 reinspection was worse. The score jumped to 53 points and the violation list grew to include adulterated or contaminated food, mice, live roaches, filth flies and drain flies in food and non-food areas, an inaccessible hand washing facility, food contact surfaces still not sanitized, and harborage conditions still unresolved. Critically, it also added a citation that doesn't appear on most inspection records: failure to comply with an order of the Board of Health, Commissioner, or Department. That notation means the city had already issued a corrective order after the March 19 visit — and four days later, conditions had not been sufficiently addressed.
By March 25, the score had dropped back to 10 points, but live roaches and harborage conditions were still cited. The DOHMH updated the restaurant's status to Closed.
A Growing Brand With a West Village Problem
Jajaja Mexicana was founded in 2017 on Manhattan's Lower East Side by longtime friends and business partners Koorosh Bakhtiar and Nima Garos, according to Wikipedia. What started as a single LES taco spot has grown into a six-location operation spanning the Lower East Side, West Village, Williamsburg, Hudson Yards, Long Island City, and — as of December 2025 — Wynwood, Miami, per What Now Miami. The Wynwood outpost was marketed as the brand's "first and biggest location outside of New York." The West Village location on Carmine Street opened in fall 2019.
None of the brand's other locations were affected by this closure, which is specific to 63 Carmine Street (permit number 50105206). But for a restaurant group actively expanding into new markets and positioning itself as a national plant-based brand, a week-long spiral of failed health inspections at one of its most prominent NYC addresses is not a great look — particularly when the third visit still found roaches.
The Plant-Based-to-Pest-Problem Irony
Jajaja's brand identity runs heavily on sustainability and eco-consciousness: compostable containers, plastic-free packaging, local sourcing. The West Village location features the company's signature pastel-and-turquoise palette and intimate date-night vibe; its 4.7 OpenTable rating suggests the format has worked well since 2019. Mice and roaches don't discriminate between eco-friendly and conventional kitchens — old New York City buildings are old New York City buildings — but the gap between the brand's carefully curated image and three consecutive failed inspections is, to put it mildly, conspicuous.
Hoodline has reached out to Jajaja Mexicana for comment on the closure, the "failure to comply" citation, and the expected timeline for reopening. Inspection records can be checked at the NYC DOHMH ABCEats database. The West Village location can be reached at (917) 262-0184.
