Live roaches throughout entire building at Durham restaurant: Latest inspections

Update: 20+ Triangle restaurants reinspected after health violations. See the new scores

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 from Feb. 10-16.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County inspection management system shows 122 restaurant inspections were completed from Feb. 24 to March 2. All received an A grade.

Durham County sanitation scores

The Durham County inspection management system shows 52 restaurant inspections were completed from Feb. 24 to March 2.

Two restaurants received a B grade (a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%):

Anjappar Chettinad Bar and Grill (201 E. Main St.) received a score of 83% on Thursday, Feb. 26.

• The restaurant was in violation of 18 standards.
• Violations include employees wearing gloves without washing their hands, “multiple raw animal foods” in the walk-in freezer were improperly stored and dishes “stored as clean” had food debris and dust on the surface, among other violations.
• The restaurant previously scored a 90% in October 2025.

Beau & Kales Backyard BBQ (5122 NC Highway 55) received a score of 87% on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

• The restaurant was in violation of 19 standards.
• Violations include employees handling personal items like phones and then handling food without washing their hands, improper hot and cold holding temperatures for multiple foods and employees wearing watches, rings and bracelets, which are not allowed besides a plain ring like a wedding band.
• The restaurant previously scored a 94% in October 2025.

IHOP (1821 N. Pointe Drive) received a score of 88.3% on Thursday, Feb. 26

• The restaurant was in violation of 16 standards.
• Violations include multiple items in the coolers and freezers without covers, live cockroaches “throughout the entire building” and the microwave was found dirty, among other violations.
• The restaurant previously scored an 84% in September 2025.

Pei Wei Asian Express (6910 Fayetteville Road) received a score of 85.5% on Monday, March 2.

• The restaurant was in violation of 13 standards
• Violations include several food items in the walk-in freezer without a lid, several hot food items were not stored at the correct temperature and cooked rice was stored underneath a leaking sink, among other violations.
• The restaurant previously scored a 90.5% in December 2025.

Thai 55 (2223 NC 54 Suite 204) received a score of 87% on Friday, Feb. 27.

• The restaurant was in violation of 17 standards.
• Violations include employees eating their lunch and then handling food without washing their hands first, a handwashing sink was blocked by containers and boxes and tofu and lettuce in an ice bath were measured with a higher temperature than allowed.
• The restaurant previously scored an 88% in August 2025.

One restaurant received a C grade (a score of at least 70% but lower than 80%):

China Wok (3825 S. Roxboro St. Space 124) received a score of 78.5% on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

• The restaurant was in violation of 19 standards.
• Violations include an employee was seen mopping the floor and then handled food without washing their hands, no dates were on cooked food in the walk-in coolers and food was left without a lid underneath the prep counter, among other violations.
• The restaurant previously scored an 82.5% in September 2025.

Orange County sanitation scores

The Orange County inspection management system shows 15 restaurant inspections were completed from Feb. 24 to March 2. All received an A grade.

Johnston County sanitation scores

The Johnston County inspection management system shows 34 restaurant inspections were completed from Feb. 24 to March 2. All received an A grade.

Chatham County sanitation scores

The Chatham County inspection management system shows one restaurant inspection was completed Feb 24 to March 2. It received an A grade.

This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 10:31 AM.

Anna Roman

The News & Observer

919-829-4807

Anna Roman is a service journalism reporter for the News & Observer. She has previously covered city government, crime and business for newspapers across North Carolina and received many North Carolina Press Association awards, including first place for investigative reporting.