Upscale Triangle restaurant gets ‘B’ score for keeping old food: Sanitation scores (3/26)

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 March 20-26.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that at least 100 restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.

▪ 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%.

Grandma’s Diner (11216 Capital Blvd. #106 in Wake Forest) received a score of 87% during an inspection on March 20.

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

  • Critical violations included finding an employee handling raw eggs and then opening the freezer to grab cheese sticks without first removing their gloves or washing their hands.

  • Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

  • The restaurant previously scored 96% in October 2023 and 98% in February 2023.

▪ 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 13 restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.

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

Counting House (111 North Corcoran St. in Durham) received a score of 89.5% during an inspection on March 21.

  • The restaurant was in violation of 12 standards. Of these, eight were considered critical violations.

  • Critical violations included finding heavy cream and egg yolks stored at a higher temperature than required, as well as numerous items held for more than seven days, including pimento cheese sauce from March 5.

  • Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

  • The restaurant previously scored 94% in both August and October 2023.

Pei Wei Express (6910 Fayetteville Rd. #230 in Durham) received a score of 86% during an inspection on March 20.

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

  • Critical violations included finding raw beef, raw chicken, noodles and cream cheese in the walk-in cooler held at too high temperatures.

  • Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

  • The restaurant previously scored 90% in December 2023 and 93% 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 Durham County at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.

Orange County sanitation scores

The Orange County inspection management system shows that 26 restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.

▪ 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 15 restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.

▪ All restaurants received an A 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 three restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

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

Triangle Asked & Answered: What do you want to know?

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