A ‘B’ grade for Waffle House: Triangle restaurant sanitation scores (Sept. 6)
The News & Observer publishes a weekly round-up of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle spots.
Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants’ adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses.
You’ve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants you’ve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.
Here are sanitation scores in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties for the week of Aug. 30-Sept. 6.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County sanitation grades database shows 62 inspections that were completed between Aug. 30-Sept. 6.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
▪ Two restaurants received B grades, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Brixx Wood Fired Pizza (1540 Dunn Rd. Suite 100, Raleigh) received a score of 87.5% during an inspection on Sept. 1.
The restaurant was in violation of 17 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to two points.
Violations included the “entire blade surface” of a slicer having “dried on food debris” from the previous night, black residue in the bar’s handwashing sink and rust on the edges of the soda fountain’s grates.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored a 94% in June, a 96.5% in March and a 96% in November 2021.
The Station (7425 Knightdale Blvd., Knightdale) received a score of 87.5% during an inspection on Sept. 1.
The restaurant was in violation of 24 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to 1.5 points.
Violations included hot water in the bar area only reaching 83 degrees (instead of the required minimum 100 degrees), soda nozzles at the bar area having “heavy accumulation of syrup and pink build up inside,” several foods being held at incorrect temperatures and kitchen employees not wearing hair restraints.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored a 94.5% in May.
▪ No restaurants in Wake County received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.
▪ No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County by using the county’s inspection grades database at wake-nc.healthinspections.us.
Durham County sanitation scores
The Durham County inspection management system shows that 26 restaurant inspections were completed between Aug. 30-Sept. 6.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
▪ Two restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Bowl of Pho (2806 S. Miami Blvd., Durham) received a score of 84.5% during an inspection on Sept. 1.
The restaurant was in violation of 12 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to four points.
Violations included an employee leaving the kitchen and returning to the cook line without washing their hands; an employee rubbing raw beef, then touching ready-to-eat chicken without washing their hands or changing gloves in between; multiple dishes being stored with a layer of grease on them; and some foods being held at incorrect temperatures.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored a 91.5% in March and a 96% in both April and December 2021.
Waffle House (4203 NC-55, Durham) received a score of 87% during an inspection on Sept. 1.
The restaurant was in violation of 16 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to three points.
Violations included several foods being stored in such a way that could create cross contamination, such as raw bacon touching a bag of bread; several foods being held at incorrect temperatures; and clean equipment and eating utensils being stored in dirty containers.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored a 92.5% and 93% in January, a 97.5% in September 2020 and an 87.5% in July 2021.
▪ No restaurants in Durham County received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.
▪ No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County using the county’s inspections database at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.
Orange County sanitation scores
The Orange County inspection management system shows that four restaurants were inspected between Aug. 30-Sept. 6.
▪ All four restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County using the county’s inspections database at bit.ly/3eQqpxc.
Johnston County sanitation scores
The Johnston County sanitation inspections database was down Tuesday morning, and sanitation scores for Aug. 30-Sept. 6 were not immediately available. We’ll update this story if the scores become available.
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You’ve seen sanitation scores displayed at NC restaurants. What do they mean?
