As Charlotte’s restaurant selection continues to grow, many establishments are scrambling to attract customers and really letting their health standards slide in the process.
Some of the most common reasons for low scores were food handlers not washing their hands properly, contaminated food containers, and improper food temperatures (many restaurants are starting to use infrared thermometers to avoid this).
These were the top 10 worst inspection scores in Charlotte for March 2024;
#10 Bojangles
8521 N TRYON ST, CHARLOTTE, NC 28262
Scored 89 (B) on 3/27/2024
They had the following violations;
- Observed PIC on duty at beginning of inspection not able to clearly answer EHS questions related to the operation of the facility.
- Observed employee open coffee cup on top of lowboy cooler.
- Observed back handwashing sink not working.
- Observed box of unwashed tomatoes above RTE foods in the WIC.
- Observed back side of the shield on the inside of the ice machine with a large amount of black colored buildup.
- Observed ham and sausage being held below 135F. HH well has been broken for a week and facility is holding pans out of temperature under the heat lamp above the HH well.
- Observed several TCS foods in the WIC above 41F.
#9 Maple Street Biscuit Company
2725 SOUTH BV, CHARLOTTE NC 28209
Scored 88 (B) on 3/7/2024
They had the following violations;
- Observed no CFPM present during the majority of the inspection.
- Observed food employee return from toilet room without washing hands.
- Observed food employee wash hands and turn off faucet with bare hands thus recontaminating hands.
- Observed sausage gravy, eggs and chicken hot holding below 135F.
- Observed individual housemade apple butter and pepper jam above 41F in prep unit.
- Observed goat cheese, raw pooled eggs, raw shelled eggs, ham, mushrooms and other items in cold drawers above 41F.
- Observed custard and smashbrowns in lowboy above 41F.
- Observed waffle batter containing raw egg on ice above 41F.
- Observed raw chicken tenders above 41F at chicken prep.
- Observed housemade ranch in RI between 43-45F.
- Observed housemade apple butter and pepper jelly in prep unit with no date marks.
- Observed items improperly date marked such as housemade pepper jelly and sausage gravy date marked 3/1-3/8 (discard should be 3/7), and housemade custard (with milk) dated 3/2-3/9 (discard should be 3/8).
- Observed tomatoes date marked with a discard date of 3/4.
- Observed diced ham, sautéed peppers and onions and goat cheese in cold drawers with no date marks.
- Observed smashbrowns in lowboy with no date mark.
- Observed cut green tomatoes in chicken prep with no date mark.
- Observed smashbrowns in RIC with no date mark.
- Observed sausage and veggie gravy in WIC with no date marks.
#8 Mezeh Mediterranean Grill
4920 OLD SARDIS RD, CHARLOTTE NC 28211
Scored 87.5 (A) on 3/11/2024
They had the following violations;
- Observed PIC unable to answer EHS questions on Employee Health Policy and had several Priority violations during inspection today in which PIC could not display knowledge on corrective action.
- A Certified Food Protection Manager was not onsite during inspection.
- Observed employee handling soiled equipment and utensils while passing items through dish machine and proceed to handle clean utensils and equipment without washing hands between tasks.
- Observed employee wash hands and use bare hands to push lever to dispense paper towels.
- Observed a large plastic bucket being stored in basin of hand sink next to door leading to back room.
- Observed several bowls with build up being stored as clean and several containers with sticker residue on outside of container touching inside food contact surface of following container.
- Observed one container of lamb kefta balls being held on serving line in which three of the lamb balls on top measured below 135F.
- Observed a container of pizza sauce being held in grill drawer cooler at 44F.
- Observed containers of shredded lamb and sliced tomatoes in grill drawers and two containers of arugula in 3 door reach in cooler all missing date marks.
- Observed time stamps missing from all items on serving line being held on TPHC.
#7 Crafty Crab Seafood
8933 J M KEYNES DR, CHARLOTTE NC 28262
Scored 87.5 (B) on 3/21/2024
They had the following violations;
- Observed fryer basket stored in rear hand sink.
- Observed raw shrimp over ready to eat crab and crab legs.
- Observed dish machine not reaching sanitizing temperatures only 147 degrees F.
- Observed potatoes and corn on tphc not labeled with as to what time to discard or what time food was placed on tphc.
- Observed aspirin over food prep surface in main kitchen area.
- Observed lye and scouring compound over food prep surface in rear kitchen area.
#6 Chicken King
7825 NATIONS FORD RD, CHARLOTTE NC 28217
Scored 87.5 (B) on 3/19/2024
They had the following violations;
- Owner, who was present at beginning of inspection, has a certification that expired last month.
- PIC unable to provide employee health policy.
- Observed two employees on two separate occasions walk into kitchen area from outside and begin handling food without first washing hands.
- Observed employee remove one glove to handle cell phone and don a new glove to continue handling food without removing second glove and washing hands prior to donning new gloves.
- Observed hot water temperatures only reach 83F at handsink on cook line.
- Observed 0ppm chlorine sanitizer at 3 compartment sink.
- Observed various TCS items holding below 135F under heat lamp covered by cardboard.
- Observed no date mark labels on any items in prep units including housemade coleslaw, potato salad, sliced tomatoes, deli meats, mashed potatoes, rice, and mac & cheese.
- Observed clean dishes stacked wet.
#5 Showmars
2540 LITTLE ROCK RD, CHARLOTTE, NC 28214
Scored 86.5 (B) on 3/6/2024 (rescored to 93.5 on 3/21)
They had the following violations;
- Observed facility had several priority item violations today. Observed no PIC.
- Observed no CFPM on duty at beginning of inspection.
- Observed no educational poster on Employee Health and was shown vomit and diarrhea poster instead.
- Observed food service worker donning on new gloves without washing hands. Food service worker was preparing raw flounder and peeling eggs.
- Observed employee hand wash sink with no paper towels.
- Observed food debris on ice scoop and inside ice scoop holder attached to ice machine.
- Observed several pieces of cooked chicken in hotel pan on prep top between 112*F-120*F from this morning.
- Observed bag of shredded cheese and mozzarella without any date marking.
- Observed broccoli on a pan in lowboy cooler without date mark.
#4 Dennys
4541 SUNSET RD, CHARLOTTE NC 28216
Scored 85.5 (B) on 3/25/2024 (rescored to 92 on 4/1)
They had the following violations;
- PIC not monitoring proper sanitizing of equipment and utensils in dish machine; PIC not monitoring temperatures of food in cold holding, PIC not monitoring hand sinks are properly equipped, PIC not monitoring employee’s hand washing.
- Observed employee wash hands for just a few seconds.
- No readily available disposable towels at all three hand sinks upon entry.
- Low temp dish machine had no sanitizer connected for use. Machine had two types of detergent connected. No Ultra San in facility.
- Found many TCS foods in prep coolers holding above 41.0 F.
- Found many pans of TCS foods not date marked throughout facility.
- Written disclosure at bottom of menu for burgers indicates burgers may be ordered rare, but no asterisk on burger menu items to direct consumer to the consumer advisory.
#3 Sushi Hana
1515 S TRYON ST, CHARLOTTE NC 28203
Scored 84.5 (B) on 3/6/2024 (rescored to 97 on 3/13)
They had the following violations;
- Hand washing, bare hand contact, cold holding, raw food storage order, using TPHC, cooling, and dish washing were out of compliance.
- Employee was asked if she knew if there was an employee health policy here, and she was unaware of it.
- Employee breaded raw chicken and did not wash hands before switching gloves and handling lettuce.
- Employee was handling washed cucumber with bare hands.
- Bowl of cut salmon sitting on top of hand washing sink at sushi station.
- Wrapped cream cheese sitting directly on top of plate of raw fish in sushi display cooler.
- Can opener blade had visible multi-day residue on it and large amount of containers and lids stored as clean had sticker and food residue on them.
- Lettuce measured 52F at 1:30PM. PIC stated it began cooling at 12PM.
- Crab, salmon, yellowtail, tofu, spicy salmon, shrimp and kale were stored completely out of temperature control at sushi station and measured 49-72F. Lettuce on line was also stored completely out of temperature control and measured 60F.
- Eel in sushi reach-in cooler had old date sticker of 2-24.
- Rice held using TPHC was not marked with time.
- Charlotte roll on all you can eat dinner menu is missing asterisk tying it to consumer advisory on bottom of menu.
- Pill bottle stored on shelf above clean utensils.
#2 Harris Food Mart
8400 OLD STATESVILLE RD, CHARLOTTE NC 28269
Scored 82.5 (B) on 3/22/2024
They had the following violations;
- Observed PIC couldn’t provide or tell EHS how employees were trained on FBI.
- Observed employee pick raw chicken off floor and tried to continue flouring chicken.
- Observed broom and dustpan blocking hand sink.
- Observed raw shell eggs stored above RTE food in WIC.
- Observed Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich at 119F.
- Observed Chicken , cooked sausage ,bologna, liver mush all above 41F.
- Observed Gas Treatment(for cars) stored on shelf with hand soap, bleach, and coffee filters.
- Observed urial in male bathroom taped off.
#1 Little Caesars
228 EASTWAY DR, CHARLOTTE NC 28212
Scored 82.5 (B) on 3/4/2024
They had the following violations;
- Observed PIC unable to answer EHS questions related to the food establishment.
- Observed several priority item violations today.
- Observed employee drink commingled with customer food in lowboy cooler.
- Observed no paper towels at handwashing sink and bathroom sink.
- Observed cheese sauce with mold on it.
- Observed Quat sanitizer at 3 comp sink above 400 ppm.
- Observed pizza sauce prepared yesterday cooling in WIC above 41F.
- Observed all TCS foods except chicken wings in Prep top and WIC above 41F.
- Observed TCS foods in prep top and open TCS foods in lowboy cooler not date marked.
If you’d like to monitor health scores or do a quick search for a restaurant you’re about to eat at, check out North Carolina’s health inspection database here.
