2 Bojangles restaurants get ‘B’ grades for bugs, dirty dishes: Scores (July 25)

Two Charlotte Bojangles restaurants received “B” grades from the Mecklenburg County Health Department for numerous health violations, including the presence of insects and dirty dishes.

Bojangles ‘B’ scores

▪ Bojangles (8521 N. Tryon St. in Charlotte) received an 87% score during an inspection on Monday, July 21.

Inspectors cited the restaurant after finding a “crawling pest” inside a dry storage area, county documents show. Other violations the restaurant was cited for include:

• Employee washing hands for less than 20 seconds

• No soap at handsink in men’s bathroom

• Food debris on dishes stored as clean

• Box of chicken stored on floor in walk-in cooler

• Employees preparing food with no head coverings

• Dark buildup on drink machines

• Multiple areas of walls, floors and ceilings with large amount of debris and buildup

This is the restaurant’s second “B” grade. The most recent one occurred last March.

▪ Bojangles (6915 Albemarle Rd. in Charlotte) received an 89% score during an inspection on Thursday, July 24.

The restaurant was dinged after inspectors discovered three flies in the kitchen area, according to county documents. An inspector also noted there was only one employee working at the facility at the time of inspection.

“Facility duties are unable to be safely accomplished with one staff member on duty to prepare and serve a highly trafficked facility,” county documents say.

Other violations the restaurant was cited for include:

• Lids and rags in handwashing sink

• Can opener with debris and buildup

• Boxes of oil stored on the floor

• Employees preparing food with no head coverings

• Multiple shelving, surfaces, lids and outsides of equipment with heavy build up and residue

• Heavily soiled restroom

This is the restaurant’s fourth “B” grade. The most recent one occurred in February 2021.

Mecklenburg County sanitation scores

The Mecklenburg County sanitation grades database shows that at least 166 restaurant inspections were completed July 18-24.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.

▪ Three restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.

▪ Pho Real (440 E. McCullough Dr. in Charlotte) received a score of 88% during an inspection on Wednesday, July 23.

• The restaurant violated 13 standards, including employees not washing hands after coughing and raw chicken stored above raw beef.

• Most violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored 93% in March.

How to search NC restaurant inspection scores

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 News & Observer previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.

According to state law, permits are immediately revoked if a restaurant receives a score of less than 70%.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Mecklenburg County at public.cdpehs.com.

Evan Moore

The Charlotte Observer

Evan Moore is a service journalism reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He grew up in Denver, North Carolina, where he previously worked as a reporter for the Denver Citizen, and is a UNC Charlotte graduate.