The Charlotte Business Journal is continuing its monthly series that provides a review of health-code inspections for Mecklenburg County restaurants.
Restaurants featured in this section scored either a "B" or "C" when inspected in the month of July, according to data pulled Aug. 9 from the N.C. Public Health Inspections online database.
A total of 495 restaurants, of which 14 scored below an "A," were inspected last month in Mecklenburg County. For restaurants that received a "B" or "C" grade last month but have since been re-inspected, that updated score will be noted in the summary.
Food establishments that score below 70 immediately have their permits revoked, according to state law.
There are more than 3,900 food-service facilities in operation across the county, and that number increases daily, according to the Food and Facilities Sanitation Program, which is part of the Mecklenburg County Health Department's Environmental Health division. Staff within that program conduct more than 11,000 facility inspections each year "to help maintain high levels of sanitation in the protection of public health," states its website.
The Food Establishment Inspection Report checks for contributing factors that increase the chance of developing foodborne illnesses and ensuring preventative measures are in place for keeping pathogens, chemicals and physical objects out of food. To see specifically what health inspectors look for when grading a food establishment, check out a copy of the report.
Items of priority include improper cooking techniques and temperatures, food handlers not washing their hands properly and sick workers preparing food.
More information about Mecklenburg County's food-service inspections and access to the North Carolina Food Code Manual can be found here.
The listing below includes the restaurant's name, address, score, date of inspection and critical violations. To view the searchable health database, click here.
Bojangles', 300 W. Blvd. in Charlotte (80.5/B)
Inspected July 25: Six critical violations, including person in charge not initially on site/several hand-washing violations observed; food employee handling clean utensils without first washing hands/hand-washing sink in kitchen lacking soap; food employee improperly dumping liquid eggs down hand-washing sink; sanitizer at sink found below required concentration level; liquid eggs cold holding near grill above required temperature; and facility failing to follow procedure for using Time as a Public Health Control for fries. (Re-inspected Aug. 8: 96.5/A)
Bojangles', 6915 Albemarle Road in Charlotte (87/B)
Inspected July 12: Four critical violations, including person in charge lacking certification as a food protection manager; cashiers plating to-go orders after handling payments without washing hands/cook hand handling food for an order after touching soiled equipment handles; food thermometer found with buildup on probe; and facility failing to follow procedure for using Time as a Public Health Control for fries.
Carmella's Pizza Grill, 8124 S. Tryon St. in Charlotte (88/B)
Inspected July 19: Six critical violations, including person in charge lacking certification as a food protection manager; employee drinks improperly stored on prep tables; food employee handling ready-to-eat food without changing gloves, washing hands upon returning to kitchen/food employee failing to change gloves after touching doors; cleaning brushes improperly stored in hand-washing sink; kitchenware found with residue, building/ sanitizer in bucket found below required concentration level; and facility failing to follow procedure for using Time as a Public Health Control for pizza. (Re-inspected Aug. 2: 91.5/A)
Carniceria y Taqueria Jalisco, 6127 Albemarle Road in Charlotte (88.5/B)
Inspected July 12: Five critical violations, including person in charge lacking certification as a food protection manager; food employee improperly washing hands after handling raw pork in same sink as rinsed pork; spoiling lettuce, expired milk found in walk-in cooler/sliced ham found opened in prep unit; raw eggs improperly stored over raw chorizo in prep unit; and large pot of salsa verde, opened sliced ham lacking date marks.
Godavari Authentic Indian Cuisine, 8624 Camfield St. in Charlotte (82/B)
Inspected July 18: 10 critical violations, including food employee improperly eating on prep table in kitchen; food employees turning off faucet without paper towel/employee failing to wash hands properly/employee failing to wash hands between handling dirty and clean equipment; food employee touching cooked potatoes without gloves; equipment, utensils improperly stored in hand-washing sink/food employee improperly washing hands at prep sink; foreign object found in ice cream in reach-in freezer; malfunctioning dish machine/dirty pans, can opener blade stored as clean; flip-top prep unit at grill cold holding food above required temperature; sauces, container of potatoes and chicken lacking date marks; and facility failing to follow procedure for using Time as a Public Health Control. (Re-inspected Aug. 8: 85/B)
Hibachi Express, 2908 Oak Lake Blvd. in Charlotte (86.5/B)
Inspected July 13: Seven critical violations, including person in charge not initially on site/several violations observed; food employee washing hands without soap, for less than 15 seconds and turning off faucet without paper towel; raw chicken improperly stored over ready-to-eat produce in walk-in cooler; sanitizer container found below required concentration level; cooked beef cooling outside of required temperature/time limit; cooked mushrooms, carrots hot holding below required temperature; and raw chicken, raw scallops, raw shrimp and cooked beef cold holding above required temperature. (Re-inspected July 25: 93/A)
Hokkaido Japanese Express, 8170 S. Tryon St. in Charlotte (88/B)
Inspected July 18: Five critical violations, including employee food improperly stored with facility food; food employee handling food without washing hands/food employee turning off faucet without paper towel after washing hands; hand-washing sink improperly used to store dirty plates/rinse wet towel; raw shrimp improperly stored over ready-to-eat onion, carrots and peppers; and facility failing to follow procedure for using Time as a Public Health Control for sushi rice.
La Unica Supercenter, 5323 E. Independence Blvd. in Charlotte (89.5/B)
Inspected July 20: Six critical violations, including certified food protection manager not on site; employee water bottle, food improperly on food prep surface; food employee cutting potatoes, onions without gloves; raw pork, steak and chicken improperly stored over corn, queso and cooked meat; corn, chicken franks found without date marks; and chemical bottles improperly stored.
La'Wan's Soul Food, 7520 S. Tryon St. in Charlotte (87/B)
Inspected July 19: Five critical violations, including food employee turning off faucet without paper towel after washing hands/food employee failing to wash hands for proper length of time; macaroni and cheese cooling outside of required temperature/time limit; several foods including tuna, hot dogs and pasta salad kept past expiration date; and sanitizer found above required concentration level.
Light Rail Family Restaurant, 8045 S. Blvd. in Charlotte (81.5/B)
Inspected July 6: Six critical violations, including person in charge lacking certification as a food protection manager/several violations observed; food employee turning off faucet without paper towel after washing hands/food employee touching raw chicken and ready-to-eat French toast after changing gloves but not washing hands; hand-washing sink lacking soap; raw burger meat improperly stored over ready-to-eat foods like hash-brown mix and deli meats in cooler; food in walk-in cooler cold holding above required temperature; and several items including mashed potatoes, coleslaw, chicken and deli meat kept past expiration date. (Re-inspected Aug. 3: 90/A)
Morazan Restaurant, 4400 Central Ave., in Charlotte (87/B)
Inspected July 19: Three critical violations, including beef soup cooling outside of required temperature/time limit; tomatoes, cabbage and tamales cold holding above required temperature; and pastelitos, habanero salsa, chicken soup and chicharrones kept past expiration date.
Red Sea Eritrean & Ethiopian Cuisine, 4301 Monroe Road in Charlotte (88.5/B)
Inspected July 19: Seven critical violations, including employee water bottle improperly stored on top of food prep surface; food employee failing to wash hands in between tasks/food employee washing hands at wrong sink without soap; knife, scrub brush improperly stored in hand-washing sink/back hand-washing sink found with significant food debris/bar hand-washing sink lacking paper towels/hand-washing sink lacking soap; raw beef improperly stored in reach-in unit over cooked chicken, lamb; chicken, lamb improperly stored in walk-in cooler over uncovered peppers, vegetables; cutting boards, knives and other utensils found heavily soiled/buildup found in ice machine; butter, tomato paste cold holding above required temperature; and beets, chicken, lamb, cabbage and other food lacking date marks.
Sithara, 9609 N. Tryon St. in Charlotte (84.5/B)
Inspected July 17: Five critical violations, including person in charge lacking certification as a food protection manager; worker improperly washing hands in prep sink without using soap or paper towels; facility's only kitchen hand-washing sink blocked by utensils, lacking paper towels; raw tilapia, raw chicken and raw lamb stored over ready-to-eat vegetables, cooked meats in fridge; few pans of food in walk-in cooler found uncovered; and several food items including fried chicken bites, cooked onion sauce and cooked lamb lacking or incorrectly date marked/onion sauce kept past expiration date.
United House of Prayer cafeteria, 1019 S. Mint St. in Charlotte (85/B)
Inspected July 27: Six critical violations, including employee unfamiliar with health policy; person in charge put on gloves multiple times without first washing hands/dish washer failing to wash hands in between handling dirty and clean utensils; sink being used to wash utensils lacking proper sanitizer levels; macaroni and cheese cooling outside of required temperature/time limit; numerous food items cold holding including raw chicken, raw pork cold holding above required temperature/faulty reach-in cooler; and several food items including macaroni, greens and cooked turkey legs lacking date marks.