Popular fried chicken chain earns ‘B’ grade: Triangle sanitation scores (Dec. 19)

Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska
JOHN D. SIMMONS

The News & Observer publishes a weekly roundup of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle dining 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 food-borne 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 Triangle counties for the week of Dec. 13-19.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that at least 100 restaurant inspections were completed Dec. 13-19.

▪ 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%.

BlueFox Indian Cuisine (2250 Gathering Park Cir. in Cary) received a score of 88.5% during an inspection on Dec. 15.

  • The restaurant was in violation of 13 standards. Of these, five were considered critical violations.

  • Serious violations included finding the chlorine dishwashing machine ineffectively sanitizing materials and female food employees not wearing hair restraints as they prepped food.

  • Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

  • The restaurant previously scored 92% in June 2023 and 91.5% and March 2023.

Church’s Chicken (1401 New Bern Ave. in Raleigh) received a score of 88.5% during an inspection on Dec. 18.

  • The restaurant was in violation of 13 standards. Of these, five were considered critical violations.

  • Serious violations included observing a food employee enter from outside and begin prepping mac and cheese without first washing their hands and another employee prep raw chicken and grab a basket of freshly cooked fries without first washing their hands, as well as finding residue inside the ice machine.

  • Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

  • The restaurant previously scored 93% in February 2023 and 93.5% in July 2022.

▪ No restaurants 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 at wake-nc.healthinspections.us.

Durham County sanitation scores

The Durham County inspection management system shows 38 restaurant inspections were completed Dec. 13-19.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.

Orange County sanitation scores

The Orange County inspection management system shows that 19 restaurant inspections were Dec. 13-19.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County at bit.ly/3eQqpxc.

Johnston County sanitation scores

The Johnston County sanitation inspections database shows that 16 restaurant inspections were completed Dec. 13-19.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.

▪ One restaurant received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.

Azteca Market (117 Meghan Cir. in Selma) received a score of 83% during an inspection on Dec. 18.

  • The restaurant was in violation of 16 standards. Of these, 10 were considered critical violations.

  • Critical violations included finding containers of salsa from over a week prior and that employees were not washing their hands at proper times.

  • Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

  • The restaurant previously scored 90.5% in September 2023 and 90% in May 2023.

▪ No restaurants received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but lower than 80%.

▪ No restaurants received a failing grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us.

Chatham County sanitation scores

The Chatham County inspections management system shows that that four restaurant inspections were completed Dec. 13-19.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq.

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