Live flies & no hair restraints: This week’s Triangle sanitation scores (Sept. 13)
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 Sept. 6-13.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County sanitation grades database shows 93 inspections that were completed between Sept. 6-13.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
▪ One restaurant received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Mi Rancho Mexican Restaurant (2549 S. Saunders St., Raleigh) received a score of 88% during an inspection on Sept. 12.
The restaurant was in violation of 18 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to three points.
Violations included an employee handling dirty dishes, then touching clean dishes without washing their hands in between; some dirty containers being stored as clean; several foods being held at incorrect temperatures; several live flies in the kitchen; and warm tortillas being stored in grocery bags.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored a 91% in May and January of this year and an 83% in December 2021.
▪ 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 20 restaurant inspections were completed between Sept. 6-13.
▪ 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%.
La Isla (315 Foushee St., Durham) received a score of 81.5% during an inspection on Sept. 9.
The restaurant was in violation of 20 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to two points.
Violations included raw meat being stored above cooked meat in the cooler; onions that had been cooked the previous day being left out all day; some ready-to-eat foods not being date-marked; and “active managerial control” not being exercised in the kitchen.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored an 81.5% in December 2021, a 93% in May 2021 and a 91.5% in October 2020.
Thai Star (5410 NC-55 Suite F, Durham) received a score of 83% during an inspection on Sept. 6.
The restaurant was in violation of 16 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to three points.
Violations included an employee eating an apple over a sandwich preparation surface, two employees touching vegetables with their bare hands, several foods being held at incorrect temperatures and an employee not wearing a hair restraint while preparing food.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored a 92.5% in October 2021, a 94% in January 2021 and a 93% in November 2020.
▪ 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 13 restaurants were inspected between Sept. 6-13.
▪ All 13 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 shows that 21 restaurants were inspected between Sept. 6-13.
▪ All 21 restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County using the county’s inspections database at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us.
You’ve seen sanitation scores displayed at NC restaurants. What do they mean?
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