Yelp’s ‘best barbecue restaurant’ in NC earns C grade: Sanitation scores (Oct. 17)

Kimberly Cataudella
·3 min read
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The News & Observer publishes a weekly roundup of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle dining spots.

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 N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.

Here are sanitation scores in Triangle counties for the week of Oct. 11-17.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that 40 restaurant inspections were completed Oct. 11-17.

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

▪ No restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.

▪ One restaurant received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.

Big Mike’s BBQ (1222 NW Maynard Rd. in Cary) received a score of 77.5% during an inspection on Oct. 11.

  • The restaurant was in violation of 32 standards. Of these, 12 were considered critical violations.

  • Serious violations included an employee smoking tobacco and neglecting to wash their hands before returning to food preparation, not cleaning a food thermometer between uses and “multiple containers” of food kept beyond seven days.

  • Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

  • The restaurant previously scored 90.5% in August 2023 and 93% in May 2023.

This spring, Yelp reviews deemed Big Mike’s BBQ the best barbecue in North Carolina.

▪ No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County at wake-nc.healthinspections.us.

Durham County sanitation scores

The Durham County inspection management system shows 17 restaurant inspections were completed Oct. 11-17.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.

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

Del Rancho (5279 N Roxboro St. in Durham) received a score of 84.5% during an inspection on Oct. 16.

  • The restaurant was in violation of 19 standards. Of these, five were considered critical violations.

  • Serious violations included finding two dead roaches on top of lids in the dry storage area, debris on multiple pans stored as clean and a leak in a kitchen pipe.

  • Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

  • The restaurant previously scored 90.5% both in July 2023 and April 2023.

▪ No restaurants received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but lower than 80%.

▪ No restaurants received a failing grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.

Orange County sanitation scores

The Orange County inspection management system shows that six restaurant inspections were completed Oct. 11-17.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County at bit.ly/3eQqpxc.

Johnston County sanitation scores

The Johnston County sanitation inspections database shows that 19 restaurant inspections were completed Oct. 11-17.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us.

Chatham County sanitation scores

The Chatham County inspections management system shows that that five restaurant inspections were completed Oct. 11-17.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq.

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