Want to find health inspection scores for your favorite Charlotte restaurant? Here’s how

Evan Moore
·2 min read
Many previously exempt bars in NC that prepare and serve food will be subject to health inspections starting in March.

The Mecklenburg County’s Environmental Health Division is tasked with monitoring both natural and man-made environments that have an effect on human health.

That job includes conducting inspections at establishments that serve food.

The division reports that there are more than 4,400 food service facilities currently operating within the county. While that figure continues to grow every day, county officials conduct about 13,000 facility inspections each year, according to the county website.

Those inspection records eventually get uploaded to the division’s Food and Facilities Inspections site where the public can review for free the inspection scores of their favorite Charlotte restaurants.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind while looking up inspection scores on the county website.

Filter by score

If you’re specifically looking for restaurants to avoid, you can filter search results by grade by clicking the drop down menu that says “Score.”

Restaurants can receive letter grades of “A,” “B” or “C.” Here’s the grading scale county inspectors use:

  • A: 90+

  • B: 80-89.5

  • C: 70-79.5

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

Filter by establishment type

The county’s inspections site includes scores for more than 100 types of establishments that serve food, including restaurants, food trucks, schools and hotels.

If you want to check on inspection scores for your child’s school, or want to make sure a local hotel is following cleanliness standards before booking a stay there, just select the drop down menu that says “Establishment Type.”

Eliminate unnecessary search terms

When you’re searching for the inspection records of a specific restaurant, it may be helpful to not include the word “the” that precedes the restaurant’s name.

For example, when searching for inspection records that belong to a restaurant called “The Mad Greek,” nothing comes up when typing in the full name of the restaurant. However, once you shorten your search item to just “Mad Greek,” the desired results are populated.

Adjust inspection dates

If you are only willing to eat at restaurants that have been inspected recently, you can filter searches for restaurants that have been inspected within a selected window of time, such as within the last three months or within the last week.

To filter dates, select the drop down menu that says “Inspection Date,” then choose the range of dates where you want to view inspection records from.

Enter a zip code and select a city to narrow results

One of the optional fields you’ll come across when searching for health inspection records through the inspection management system is zip code. This is especially helpful if you’re reviewing the health inspection scores of chain restaurants that have multiple locations throughout the region.

The inspection site also gives you the option to filter results by city, making it easier to see scores for restaurants in the town where you live.