Three York County Restaurants Earn B grades in July Inspections

Three York County restaurants received B grades from state inspectors during July, and two of them had climbed back to an A before the month ended, according to inspection reports from the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

The agency logged 186 inspections in the county in July, counting routine visits and follow-ups. No establishment received a C.

The Department of Agriculture scores retail food establishments on a 100-point scale and posts a letter grade decal at each site after every inspection. A score of 88 or higher earns an A. A score of 78 to 87 earns a B, which the agency describes as food safety practices needing improvement. Anything at 77 or below earns a C. A B or C triggers a follow-up inspection, and the grade can change once the inspector verifies that violations have been fixed. Both restaurants that were reinspected in July came back with A grades.

El Preferido in Clover

El Preferido, at 1809 Highway 321 North in Clover, scored 85 points on a routine inspection July 7.

The inspector wrote that the basin of the kitchen handwashing sink was blocked by dirty dishes at the start of the inspection. A large pot and a cutting board had been washed and put away as clean without a sanitizing step. Containers of cooked and cooled carnitas and cooked and cooled onions were being held past the disposal date on the restaurant’s own date-marking stamp, and the person in charge voluntarily discarded them. Food was also being stored in thin plastic shopping bags, with the food touching the bag directly. All four of those items were corrected during the inspection.

Two other violations were noted without correction. Vacuum-packed fish was thawing under refrigeration without being removed from its packaging, and bulk bags of onions, boxes of tortillas and canned goods were stored in an outside covered area. Cooking, reheating, hot holding and cold holding temperatures were all in the proper range.

A follow-up inspection July 9 returned the restaurant to an A.

Akahana Asian Bistro in Fort Mill

Akahana Asian Bistro, at 940 Market St., Suite 124, in Fort Mill, also scored 85 points, on a routine inspection July 23.

Two of the violations were flagged as consecutive, meaning the same problem had been cited on a previous inspection. A working spray bottle was again found without a label identifying its contents, and the mop sink hose was again left under pressure without a dual check backflow preventer installed. The report notes that both may be sent to enforcement. Under state regulation, violations can carry a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation for each day of non-compliance.

The inspector also found food stored in thin plastic shopping bags in the cooler and freezer, which was corrected on site. The restaurant could not produce food handler certification at the time of the inspection. Other items included air gaps at the bottom of the kitchen back door, food stored directly on the freezer floor, knives stored between prep tables, single-service items that were not stored upside down, and an employee restroom in the kitchen area with a door that did not close on its own.

Hot and cold holding temperatures were within range throughout the facility. A follow-up inspection July 30 brought Akahana back to an A.

Applebee’s in Rock Hill

Applebee’s #1140, at 2227 Dave Lyle Blvd. in Rock Hill, drew the lowest score of the three, an 80 on a routine inspection July 30.

The inspector reported watching an employee use a cell phone in the prep area and then move to food preparation without washing their hands. That was corrected during the visit, as was a mop sink hose left under pressure. Pans were found with sticker residue on them and the soda nozzles at the server station had organic buildup.

The report lists a long run of cleaning and maintenance problems. Microwaves on the cook’s line had food debris built up. Gaskets on the make units, low boys and stand-up freezers had food and organic matter on them, and the interiors of those units had debris as well. Grease and organic matter had collected on top of the warewashing doors. Metal food storage racks were rusted, which was not corrected at the time of the inspection. The freezer was missing floor tiles, the walk-in cooler had unsealed concrete, and the wait station table and the hand sink by the dish machine both needed recaulking.

Inspectors also found frozen salmon thawing on a counter without being taken out of its reduced-oxygen packaging, the back door propped open, tongs held in standing water at 119 degrees rather than the required 135, and china plates stored right side up instead of inverted.

Because the inspection fell on the last day of the month, no follow-up appears in the July records. The report calls for a follow-up within 10 days, which would put the return visit in early August. The grade posted at the restaurant stands at a B until that inspection is completed.

Full inspection reports for every permitted food establishment in the state, including scores from the past three years, are available through the SC Food Grades tool at apps.dhec.sc.gov/Environment/FoodGrades.