Popular Durham burger joint earns B grade: Triangle sanitation scores (Aug. 8)
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 Aug. 3-8.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that 63 restaurant inspections were completed Aug. 3-8.
▪ 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 22 restaurant inspections were completed Aug. 3-8.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.
▪ One restaurant received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Smashburger (2608 Erwin Rd. Suite 116 in Durham) received a score of 85.5% during an inspection on Aug. 3.
The restaurant was in violation of nine standards. Of these, four were considered critical violations.
Critical violations included having “multiple plastic containers and metal bowls observed stored as clean but had food debris inside of them,” and keeping food at improper temperatures.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
- The restaurant previously scored 93% in October 2022 and 92.5% in January 2022.
▪ 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 three restaurant inspections were Aug. 3-8.
▪ 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 10 restaurant inspections were completed Aug. 3-8.
▪ 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 six restaurant inspections were completed Aug. 3-8.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.
▪ One restaurant received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Refuel #127 (43 Lifestyle Pl. in Pittsboro) received a score of 89.5% during an inspection on Aug. 4.
The restaurant was in violation of 12 standards. Of these, six were considered critical violations.
Critical violations included finding “debris” on the roller grill, roller grill drawer and microwave, and observing unwrapped red apples exposed to contamination.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
- The restaurant previously scored 92% in March 2023 and 97.5% in December 2022.
▪ 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 Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq.
