10 Worst Charlotte Restaurant Health Scores in July

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charlotte-health-inspection-scoresEven though Charlotte’s restaurant selection continues to grow, so does our population, and some restaurants are taking advantage of this growing customer base by letting their health standards slide.

Some of the most common reasons for low scores were food handlers not washing their hands properly, contaminated food containers, and improper food temperatures (many restaurants are starting to use infrared thermometers to avoid this). You can see exactly what the inspectors look for on this blank copy of an inspection report.

These are the top 10 worst currently standing inspection scores in Mecklenburg County:

#10 Hickory Tavern

Sometimes only a burger and fries will do!

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11504 Providence Rd., Charlotte, NC

Scored 89 (B) on 7/28/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed employees using bare hands to turn off faucet at handsink.
  • Observed straws in back handsink near warewashing area, indicating that the sink was being used for dumping in addition to handwashing.
  • Observed shellstock tags not in chronological order with several tags missing the date the container was depleted.
  • Observed employees changing tasks from working on cook line to retrieving food from walk in (touching the handles of equipment) and then returning to working with ready to eat food on the cook line without changing gloves or washing hands.
  • Observed crab butter hot holding at 125F in wells.
  • Observed shredhead potato mix (cheese, bacon, etc) holting at 49F in reach in.
  • Observed two pans of hot dogs, a container of pimento cheese, a container of chicken salad, and half and half cream throughout facility with no marking system to indicate prep or opening date.

#9 Carrabba’s Italian Grill

I don't ask for sympathy just understanding

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10400 E. Independence Blvd., Matthews, NC

Scored 87.5 (B) on 7/20/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed employee drink stored on the prep counter.
  • Observed a knife and a rag stored in the hand washing sink.
  • Observed no paper towels at the front hand washing sink.
  • Observed missing expiration tag on container of mussels.
  • Observed several pans with food buildup on the inside, and several pans still containing stickers. Observed the slicer still containing food buildup after employee finished cleaning the unit.
  • Observed no label on the front end hand soap bottles.

#8 Whole Foods – Waverly

noodly!

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7221 Waverly Walk Ave., Charlotte, NC

Scored 87.5 (B) on 7/31/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed employee in main kitchen area washing her hands for less than 15 seconds.
  • Observed employee at prep area changing outer gloves without a handwash.
  • Observed employee in prep area wearing single use plastic gloves over a cut resistant glove on one hand and only changing the outer gloves when changing tasks. Inner glove was not changed nor was it fully covered by the single use glove, and hands were not washed between tasks.
  • Observed multiple pans in warewashing room stored as clean with sticker residue left on them after warewashing. Observed clean sheet pans being stored on a soiled cart.
  • Observed potatoes and breakfast burrito hot holding below 135F on breakfast bar. Items were held on TPHC with no written procedure in place.
  • Observed ranch dressing sitting on counter top at 71F. Observed salted butter and cream cheese cold holding above 45F at breakfast bar. PIC stated first that items are cold held, then that they are on TPHC. Facility has no procedure for TPHC.
  • Observed that facility has no written procedure for their TPHC process. Items are being labelled with start and end times but no SOP is in place for process.
  • Observed cheddar grits still on line at 10:47 with a discard time of 10:30.

#7 Mi Barrio Halal Latin Grill

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7308 E. Independence Blvd., Charlotte, NC

Scored 87.5 (B) on 7/20/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed employees fail to wash hands at appropriate times, improperly washing hands, and the walk in cooler not maintaining foods at 45F or lower.
  • Observed one employee wash hands then turn off faucet without using a barrier.
  • Observed raw marinated chicken stored above raw beef in the walk in cooler.
  • Observed dish machine operating at 0ppm chlorine concentration.
  • Observed the ambient air temperature of the walk in cooler at 55F after several minutes of monitoring.
  • Observed TCS foods such as gyro cones in the cooler at 57F.

#6 La Riviera

Con mi hijo!! Victor

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6023 Albemarle Rd., Charlotte, NC

Scored 85.5 (B) on 7/5/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed no certified food protection manager onsite.
  • Observed no papertowel or soap at the cookline handsink.
  •  Observed oysters in the walk in cooler with no tag. Observed tags save in book but last date of sale was lasted recorded over a month ago.
  • Observed raw hamburger stored above veggies in the glass reach in.
  • Observed black and pinto beans holding at <135F
  • Observed peppers and onions holding at <135F
  • Observed the walk in cooler and the small make table holding foods at >45F
  • Observed cologne and a sealant stored over dishes in the glass reach in unit

#5 Anntony’s Caribbean Cafe

2001 E. Seventh St., Charlotte, NC

Scored 85 (B) on 7/27/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed no one present with foodservice certification.
  • Observed employee with uncovered coffee, drinking from cup and handling cup with fingers inside and outside of cup.
  • Observed employee go from working on computer in dining room to picking up patron plate, picking up eating utensils for patron, and take these items to patron without washing hands first, dip ice for drinks without washing hands.
  • Observed plates, scoops, grater, with food debris, grease, crumbs on them.
  • Observed coconut milk, tomato sauce, house made chicken salad, etc. with no dates on them.

#4 Jason’s Deli

Grilled corned beef #mmm #happystpaddysday #irishamerican

A post shared by Michele Ruge (@stargazer097) on

210 E. Trade St., Charlotte, NC

Scored 84 (B) on 7/21/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observe no certified food protection manager onsite for the first hour of inspection. Observed no managerial control and no PIC.
  • Observed diced peppers sitting on hand sink upon arrival. Observed large metal pan sitting on hand sink later on.
  • Observed dishes and cutting blades being stored as clean with residue and food debris left on them. Observed salad tongs with dried lettuce on them. Observed food containers being used to store food throughout coolers with build-up and food debris on them.
  • Observed several items prepared this morning that were cooling at a rate of zero and several that did not meet the 4 hour cooling parameter. These items included bean salad, chicken salad, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pasta salad, roast beef, turkey, ham, chicken, salsa, and pico.
  • Observed pico and bowtie noodles from yesterday holding at 46F. Cooler was working properly but was overloaded due to other coolers being out of order. Observed items on line in one of the coolers to be on ice, still holding above 45F. Cooler is not functioning properly.
  • Observed mozzarella cheese opened yesterday without a date label. Observed muff mix in walk-in cooler dated 7/14-7/21.
  • When asked what the slicer is cleaned with, an employee stated they use Score before rinsing and sanitizing. Bottle of Score chemical is placed at the mop sink dispenser and has warning labels stating to call poison control if ingested. Facility used to use orange force which an approved food-grade cleaner.

#3 Church’s Chicken

Honey butter #biscuits

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3217 Eastway Dr., Charlotte, NC

Scored 85 (B) on 3/29/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed no manager on duty certified in a food protection manager course.
  • Observed a bag of raw chicken stored in with a box of packaged lettuce.
  • Observed several utensils stored clean with food debris on them.
  • Observed corn, mac n cheese, and mashed potatoes all below 135F.

#2 Hyderabadi Biryani House 

#hyderabadibiryanihouse #curry #indiancuisine yum

A post shared by Brian (@thisisprobablystupid) on

15025 Lancaster Highway, Charlotte, NC

Scored 83.5 (B) on 7/17/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed significant sticker residue on food contact surfaces and food contact surfaces not being cleaned properly. Observed not a clear date marking system in place, raw food being stored over ready to eat.
  • Observed food employee beverage being stored on cutting board where food preparation was occurring.
  •  Observed food employee going from dirty to clean at ware washing while wearing gloves.
  • Observed raw chicken being stored over ready to eat tomatoes, onions, and rice (3 separate containers in walk in cooler). Observed beef being stored on top of cilantro.
  • Observed food establishment covering food with towels.
  • Observed heavy debris in all 3 microwaves.
  • Observed fried onions at 79 degrees cooked on Saturday.
  •  Observed the listed items not date marked: rice, goat, lentils, lamb, collard greens, chick peas, eggs X 2, cauliflower, rice, yogurt (adding tomatoes and PHF foods).
  • Observed insect bug killer being stored on dry storage rack with baking powder and corn starch.

#1 Beijing Chinese Restaurant

1603 South Blvd., Charlotte, NC

Scored 83 (B) on 7/24/2017

They had the following critical violations;

  • Observed an employee handle soiled rags, don gloves, and attempt to prepare food.
  • Observed an employee wash his hands however when the employee was finished he used his bare hands to turn the faucet off.
  • Observed an employee place bucket lids in the handsink.
  • Observed black growth build up on the inside of the ice machine.
  • Observed RTE chicken (57F), egg roles (51F), and RTE pork (50F) in a low boy reach in cooler. EHS also observed RTE chicken (48F) and egg rolls (47F) in the walk in.
  • Observed pork dumplings, beef dumplings, fried tofu, RTE tofu, and noodles all without dates.
  • Observed one bottle of sanitizer not labeled.

As of August 1st, the above scores have not changed, but they can be increased (or decreased) at any time, as soon as they have a re-inspection.

If you’d like to monitor heath scores, or do a quick search for a restaurant you’re about to eat at, check out North Carolina’s health inspection database here.

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