Popular upscale chain restaurant gets ‘B’ grade: Triangle sanitation scores (Nov. 7)
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 Nov. 1-7.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that 73 restaurant inspections were completed Nov. 1-7.
▪ 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%.
Firebirds (3200 Village Market Pl. in Morrisville) received a score of 86% during an inspection on Nov. 6.
The restaurant was in violation of 12 standards. Of these, eight were considered critical violations.
Critical violations included employees cutting ready-to-eat foods without gloves and the facility’s slicer remaining soiled with food residue from the day before.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
- The restaurant previously scored 92% in June 2023 and 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 19 restaurant inspections were completed Nov. 1-7.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.
▪ One restaurant received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Li Ming’s Global Mart (3400 Westgate Dr. in Durham) received a score of 86.5% during an inspection on Nov. 6.
The restaurant was in violation of 17 standards. Of these, eight were considered critical violations.
The inspector needed to instruct one employee to wash their hands “several times” during the inspection. Critical violations also included finding knives and other utensils stored as clean but with “visible build up” and observing employees handle fried fish with their bare hands.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
- The restaurant previously scored 94% in August 2023 and 92% in April 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 14 restaurant inspections were completed Nov. 1-7.
▪ 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 nine restaurant inspections were completed Nov. 1-7.
▪ 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 five restaurant inspections were completed Nov. 1-7.
▪ All restaurants received an A grade.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq.
This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 10:18 AM.
