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 March 20-26.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that at least 100 restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.
▪ 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%.
Grandma’s Diner (11216 Capital Blvd. #106 in Wake Forest) received a score of 87% during an inspection on March 20.
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The restaurant was in violation of nine standards. Of these, seven were considered critical violations.
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Critical violations included finding an employee handling raw eggs and then opening the freezer to grab cheese sticks without first removing their gloves or washing their hands.
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Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
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The restaurant previously scored 96% in October 2023 and 98% in 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 13 restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.
▪ Two restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Counting House (111 North Corcoran St. in Durham) received a score of 89.5% during an inspection on March 21.
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The restaurant was in violation of 12 standards. Of these, eight were considered critical violations.
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Critical violations included finding heavy cream and egg yolks stored at a higher temperature than required, as well as numerous items held for more than seven days, including pimento cheese sauce from March 5.
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Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
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The restaurant previously scored 94% in both August and October 2023.
Pei Wei Express (6910 Fayetteville Rd. #230 in Durham) received a score of 86% during an inspection on March 20.
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The restaurant was in violation of 13 standards. Of these, four were considered critical violations.
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Critical violations included finding raw beef, raw chicken, noodles and cream cheese in the walk-in cooler held at too high temperatures.
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Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
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The restaurant previously scored 90% in December 2023 and 93% in May 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 26 restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.
▪ 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 15 restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.
▪ 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 three restaurant inspections were completed March 20-26.
▪ All restaurants received an A grade.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq.
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