Hand Sink Repairs, Roaches Lead To B Grades At Two Lancaster County Locations

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture conducted 91 restaurant and food service inspections in Lancaster County in September. All but three resulted in an A grade, and no establishment received a C. The three B grades went to two locations. Tripstop in Indian Land received two of them on back-to-back follow-up inspections, and Derby in Lancaster received the third. Both locations earned an A on later follow-up inspections before the end of the month.

Every food establishment in the state must post its grade at the entrance. The inspection reports behind those grades are public record and show what inspectors found.

Under the state’s system, an establishment scoring 88 to 100 points earns an A, 78 to 87 points earns a B, and 77 or below earns a C. Inspectors can also lower a grade regardless of the score when a priority violation remains uncorrected from one inspection to the next. Priority violations are the ones most directly linked to foodborne illness. Priority foundation violations involve the equipment and practices that support food safety.

Tripstop, Indian Land

Tripstop, 9759 Charlotte Highway, scored 97 points on a Sept. 9 follow-up inspection but was downgraded to a B. The hand sinks on the cook line and in the women’s restroom did not reach the required minimum of 100 degrees. That priority foundation violation had been cited on an earlier inspection and still had not been fixed. The inspector also found single-use items left upright where they could collect contamination, and single-use cups stored on the floor in a back storage area.

Inspectors returned Sept. 16, found the same problems and left the B in place. The report notes the business was waiting on parts to repair the plumbing. On a third follow-up Sept. 25, Tripstop’s grade was upgraded to an A.

Derby, Lancaster

Derby, 1501-A Great Falls Highway, scored 85 points on a routine inspection Sept. 23. The inspector found live roach activity that was not corrected during the visit. A cut tomato was sitting on the counter at 74 degrees, and a reach-in refrigerator held decaying squash and muscadines. Staff corrected both of those problems on site.

The report also noted that no trained food handler was on site at the time of the inspection. Other violations included tomatoes and raw peanuts stored on the floor, gaps under the front and back exterior doors, debris built up on floors and walls, and a crock pot that needed cleaning. The report did not require a follow-up, but inspectors returned Sept. 30 and Derby received an A.

Checking a restaurant’s grade

Residents can look up any establishment’s current grade and full inspection history with the SC Food Grades tool on the Department of Agriculture’s website, agriculture.sc.gov.