From dead roaches to no hairnets, 3 Bibb restaurants fail routine health inspections

Contributing factors for three Bibb County restaurants failing routine health inspections in September ranged from food not stored at safe temperatures, employees forgoing hairnets and dead roaches found in one restaurant’s cabinets.

One of the restaurants serves Chinese cuisine, another is known for their small hamburgers and the third for its pizza.

State health inspectors assign grades based on how many points are deducted from 100, with scores at 69 and below considered failing.

The Telegraph reviewed routine health inspections from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30 based on what’s reported in the Georgia Department of Public Health’s online portal. Restaurant inspections are designed to protect public health.

New China Grill & Buffet

The New China Grill & Buffet at 5056 Eisenhower Parkway in Macon earned a “U” for “unsatisfactory compliance” with a failing score of 57 at its Sept. 27 inspection, according to the inspection report.

The restaurant was cited multiple times for food being stored in cold holding above required safe temperatures, according to the inspection report. Those foods included cream cheese, raw fish, imitation crab, kimchi, sliced tomato, crab salad, multiple whipped toppings and a roll of shredded ham.

The restaurant was also cited multiple times for failing to separate and protect food, including raw fish and raw chicken stored on cooked potatoes in a reach-in freezer; raw chicken stored behind raw fish in a reach-in cooler; raw shrimp stored on top of cooked chicken in a walk-in cooler; and packaged young duckling stored directly on top of mushrooms in a walk-in cooler.

The health inspector also multiple foods throughout facility improperly stored uncovered, including eggs rolls and raw pork in deep freezer, a bag of chicken breading stored on shelf next to an exit door and multiple seasonings on a rack near rice cookers.

Another violation included in the inspection report was listed as fly strips/tape hanging from a ceiling in a back prep area near an old walk-in cooler and in the main kitchen area “with an abundance of flies.”

Other violations include dead roaches in cabinetry of a hot holding bar, multiple flies in an outside storage area and dead bugs on top of packages and a bowl on a top shelf of rack near back exit doors.

The restaurant scored an 83 on its previous routine inspection on Jan. 7.

Also, the restaurant failed routine inspections on Jan. 13, 2020 with a score of 68 and on Oct. 9, 2019 with a score of 65, according to state records.

Krystal

The Krystal restaurant at 6225 Zebulon Road failed its routine inspection on Sept. 29 with a score of 63, earning a “U” for “unsatisfactory compliance.”

The restaurant was cited multiple times for food being stored in cold holding above required temperatures, including sliced cheese, individual packages of butter spread margarine and a sheet pan of raw bacon in a reach-in refrigerator.

Also, restaurant employees weren’t wearing hair restraints when one was scrambling eggs, another was handling and preparing breakfast sandwiches and a third was placing Tater Tots in bags, according to the inspection report.

Additionally, a gloved employee working the drive-thru window went outside to handle customers’ food and returned inside without washing their hands and changing their gloves, according to the report.

Other violations included “sticky and spilled food residue” on dining room tables, an “extremely dirty” women’s restroom and a “very dirty” men’s restroom.

The restaurant scored a 99 on its prior, initial inspection on Aug. 10.

Marco’s Pizza

Marco’s Pizza at 2910 Riverside Drive failed its routine inspection Sept. 15, receiving a “U” for “unsatisfactory compliance” with a score of 68.

But the restaurant quickly bounced back — scoring a 96 on its followup inspection nine days later with an “A” for “food safety excellence.

Follow-up inspections are required when a restaurant fails its routine inspection and generally take place within 10 days. Follow-up inspection reports for the New China Grill & Buffet and the Krystal restaurant had not been filed in the online state portal as of Monday afternoon.

Citations for Krystal’s failing grade during its routine inspection include an employee observed performing multiple tasks, including handling food, using the same gloves instead of discarding the gloves, washing their hands and then putting on new gloves.

The employee was seen looking for paperwork, taking money from a customer, placing a container of prep salad inside a walk-in cooler and continuing to prep and touch other food items while wearing the same pair of gloves, according to the inspection report.

The restaurant was also cited for shredded cheese, sliced pepperoni and sliced pineapple stored in cold holding above the required 41 degrees.

A health inspector observed ice chunks accumulating on the air vent inside the walk in freezer dripping onto an opened prepackaged box of sliced steak and meatballs.

The health inspector also saw several clear containers and stainless steel pans with leftover label residue on the non-food contact surfaces stacked as cleaned on the shelving rack across from the three-compartment sink, the report said.

Other violations included employees without hair restraints preparing a pizza, fixing a salad and boxing a cooked pepperoni pizza.

The restaurant scored an 84 on its previous routine inspection on Feb. 5, 2021.

Other scores

Most Bibb County restaurants scored “A’s” and “B’s” with a couple given “C’s” on their routine health inspections in September.

Also, during the same reporting period, there were no perfect scores of 100 on routine inspections for any Bibb restaurants.

However, three new restaurants earned perfect scores on their initial inspections, including:

• Dua Vietnamese Noodle Soup & The Fish Tank Poke Co., 781 Spring St., Suite 105, Macon.
• Culver’s, 3710 Northside Drive, Macon.
• Sukura Hibachi & Poke, 5585 Thomaston Road, Suite A 300

Here’s how the scores break down: “A” for a score between 90 to 100 and denotes “food safety excellence.” “B” for a score between 80 to 89, considered “satisfactory compliance.” “C” for “marginal compliance” based on a score of 70-79. A “U” for “unsatisfactory compliance” is given when a restaurant scores 69 or less.

This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.