Grimy floors + fruit flies. 4 Beaufort County businesses fell short in October inspections
Editor’s note: Belfair Grill Room’s location has been updated. The incorrect town was listed in DHEC reports. Also, the restaurant’s follow-up inspection, which was not available at press time, has been added.
--
Four Beaufort County food businesses were cited with “B” and “C” grades in October health inspections by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control:
Belfair Grill Room, 16 Cottage Drive West in Bluffton, scored an 85% (B) on Oct. 31 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: A food worker touching ready to eat foods with bare hands, issues with shellstock tags, prepared dips and sauces held longer than seven days, packages of beef without date marks, issues with thawing techniques for fish fillets and shrimp, and the three-compartment sink being used for both dirty dishes and food preparation.
The restaurant was reinspected on Nov. 9 and scored a 100% (A). Here is a note included by the inspector: “Upon arrival for follow up inspection on 11/9/23, observed B Grade Decal applied on 10/31/23 had been removed by facility. During followup inspection, facility then attempted to re-attach grade while inspection was being performed. Decal was re-attached but in different, lower location and clearly showed signs of tamper.”
El Super Market, 33 Sherington Drive in Bluffton, scored an 85% (B) on Oct. 30 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: Lack of paper towels at the meat counter hand-washing sink, a spray bottle of bleach stored over produce in the cooler and over bagged flour in the tortilla room, residential roach spray stored near the tortilla maker and under the sink in the meat display area, talcum powder stored in the meat wrapping area, rodent droppings in the tortilla making room and near the bakery oven, open containers of food stored on the floor of the cheese cooler, boxes of food stored on the floor of the freezer, plastic cups without handles stored in masa in the back room, single-use plates and to-go containers stored on the floor in the meat area, untreated wood shelving throughout the back storage room, and heavy food debris accumulation on the shelving units in the cheese and produce walk-in cooler.
The market was reinspected on Nov. 8 and scored a 100% (A).
Editor’s note: El Super, the restaurant with the same name and address as the market, also was inspected on Oct. 30 after a public complaint and scored a 92% (A). It was reinspected on Nov. 8 and scored a 100% (A).
Jasper’s Frosty Dog Cafe, 8 North Forest Beach Drive on Hilton Head Island, scored a 72% (C) on Oct. 6 in a routine inspection that was the result of a public complaint. Issues noted by inspectors included: The person in charge does not have a food handlers certificate, lack of a written employee health policy, lack of a clean up policy for vomiting and diarrhea events, lack of hand cleanser at the front hand-washing station, signs of spoilage on produce in the ice cream lowboy, heavily dented cans in dry storage, fryer baskets encrusted with food debris, waffle irons with batter splatter and grime, unclean dipping well containers at the ice cream bar, issues with cold food holding temperatures, lack of a date-marking system for ready-to-eat foods, an unlabeled open container of cleaner, an open container of powdered soap stored above the sandwich prep cooler, a mouse trap on top of shelving holding bulk food items, fruit flies around the cook line prep unit and the three-compartment sink, bagged cheese stored in standing water in the cook line prep unit, boxes of single-use cups and pizza boxes stored on the floor, issues with cold food holding temperatures in the sandwich prep cooler, the soda machine leaking water onto the counter and floor in the ice cream area, accumulation of grime in the sandwich prep cooler and ice cream prep cooler, encrusted dried ice cream on top of the ice cream freezer display case, and flooring in poor condition and with a heavy accumulation of grime, grease, food debris and trash.
The restaurant was reinspected on Oct. 16 and scored a 86% (C). This percentage normally would merit a B grade, but the inspector maintained the C grade because of continued priority violations. The inspector noted the person in charge does not have a food handlers certificate, issues with cold food holding temperatures, lack of date marks on ready-to-eat foods, a cleaner bottle stored on top of the Dippin’ Dots ice cream bin, drain cleaner stored at the waffle cone making station, the soda machine leaking water onto the floor, dried ice cream debris on the ice cream coolers, flooring in poor condition, and a heavy accumulation of food debris, grease and grime under the kitchen prep unit doors and under the cook line equipment.
The restaurant was reinspected on Oct. 24 and scored a 97% (A).
Okatie Ale House, 25 William Pope Court in Bluffton, scored a 93% (C) in a follow-up inspection related to September’s restaurant ratings. This percentage normally would merit an A grade, but the inspector downgraded the restaurant to a C because of failure to correct temperature issues with the outside walk-in cooler.
The restaurant was reinspected on Oct. 10 and scored a 100% (A).
What the grades mean
Inspectors hand out a grade of A, B or C, depending on the conditions found at the time. Points are docked for a variety of infractions, and restaurants have a chance to correct the problems and improve their score.
A: 88% to 100%
B: 78% to 87%
C: 77% or less
During October, DHEC recorded 196 inspections of restaurants, schools, stores and other food establishments in Beaufort County. The agency publishes the results of these health inspections on its website.
Newer food grade decals include a QR code that customers can scan with their phones to see a food establishment’s latest report.
Below are the SC DHEC restaurant grades in Beaufort County from Oct. 1-31, 2023.
At the top left of the chart, there is a space to search for the name of a restaurant. Please note that this month’s inspections take up two pages. Switch to page 2 at the top right.
