Mexican restaurant and 7-Eleven earn Rock Hill region’s lowest health inspection grades
An Indian Land Mexican restaurant and a Fort Mill 7-Eleven notched the lowest health inspection grades that restaurants can get.
Taqueria El Manhattan at 7580 Charlotte Hwy. in Lancaster County received a C grade on its Feb. 22 health department inspection. The 73% score is the first C grade in Lancaster County this year, among 100 routine and follow-up inspections.
The 7-Eleven at 2020 S. Dobys Bridge Road in Fort Mill, near Doby’s Bridge Elementary School, graded in the C range twice. In five inspections since its opening three years ago the convenience store had never fallen below an A rating. In four inspections this year, it’s had two B and two C scores.
This Rock Hill restaurant earned the lowest health inspection score so far in 2024
How SC restaurant inspections work
An inspection score of 88% or higher on a 100-point scale is an A grade. A Grade B of 78% to 87% indicates health and safety practices need improvements, according to the state health department.
Anything lower is a Grade C, where significant improvement is needed. Grades can vary from the point total if sites have a history of low scores or issues from recent inspections haven’t been resolved.
For comparison, 94% of all York County inspections this year resulted in A grades. In Lancaster and Chester counties it’s 88%. That entire region only has four C grades out of 511 inspections so far this year.
Taqueria El Manhattan, 7-Eleven inspection details
At Taqueria El Manhattan, an inspection found empty soap and paper towel dispensers at hand sink or prep areas. Salsas were dated beyond seven days from opening, and raw eggs were stored above ready-to-eat foods.
A back door open during inspection, raw beef thawing in standing water, residential pesticide in the kitchen area and multiple issues with the dish washing process were noted.
The 7-Eleven scored a 78% at its routine inspection Feb. 1. The score increased to 86% on a Feb. 9 follow-up. A Feb. 16 follow-up resulted in a score of 88% but also a C grade since several initial findings hadn’t been corrected.
At each trip, there was no one present at the store with a food handlers certification. Old stickers and labels were observed on clean dishes. Hot dog and egg roll temperatures weren’t maintained high enough.
Another follow-up inspection Feb. 23 scored a 94%. The C grade came from repeat issues like the sink for employee hand-washing being blocked by boxes, single-use items stored on the floor and old stickers on clean dishware.
