Popular downtown Durham restaurant gets ‘B’ grade: Health sanitation scores (Jan. 10)
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 Wake and Durham counties for the week of Jan. 3-10.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that at least 100 inspections were completed between Jan. 3-10.
▪ All restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
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 that 49 restaurant inspections were completed between Jan. 3-10.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.
▪ Two restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
GG Taste of Chicago Fish & Chicken (826 Fayetteville St., Suite 103, Durham) received a score of 86.5% during an inspection on Jan. 9.
- The restaurant was in violation of 18 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to 1.5 points.
- Violations included an employee “on a few occasions” touching a phone and not washing their hands before handling food, several foods being held at incorrect temperatures and refrigerated foods being stored in an order that could lead to cross-contamination.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored a 95% in April 2022.
Spanglish (104 City Hall Plaza, Suite 101, Durham) received a score of 85.5% during an inspection on Jan. 3.
- The restaurant was in violation of 19 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to 1.5 points.
- Violations included hot water at the handwashing sink not working properly, several foods being held at incorrect temperatures and some food cans being “severely dented” with “compromised” seams.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant previously scored a 91% in September 2022, a 92% in January 2022 and a 93% in July 2021.
▪ 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 at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.
Orange County sanitation scores
The Orange County inspection management system shows that one restaurant was inspected between Jan. 3-10. The restaurant 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 20 restaurants were inspected between Jan. 3-10.
▪ All restaurants received an A grade.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us.
