A Lawrenceville city restaurant in Metro Atlanta failed the health inspection on Tuesday, February 11. The GNR health departments bashed the Lawrenceville location of Scoville Hot Chicken with an Unsatisfactory “U” grade after it scored 64 points in the inspection. The inspectors observed several violations of the food code, including a repeat violation during the inspection.
Highlights
- A restaurant in Lawrenceville failed the health inspection on Tuesday after scoring only 64 points.
- Health inspectors reported several violations of the food code at the restaurant, leading to the unsatisfactory “U” grade.
- The restaurant will now face follow-up inspections, failing which it may lose its permit.
Scoville Hot Chicken Found in Violation of the Food Code
Located at 860 Lawrenceville Hwy Suite 1050, the location is one of the 3 in the Metro Atlanta area for Scoville Hot Chicken, the Nashville hot chicken restaurant chain. The restaurant had fared well in the previous inspections, scoring 95 in January 2024 and 99 in October 2023. However, on Tuesday afternoon, the inspectors found several cases of several risk factor violations, resulting in it failing the inspection.
The first observation recorded in the inspection report was that the person-in-charge did not demonstrate active managerial control of the establishment. The report also stated that the PIC failed to provide verifiable proof that all employees had been informed of their duty to report specific symptoms and illnesses. The facility did not have the permit, and the recent inspection report was posted for public view as well.
A repeat violation, for the second consecutive time was also observed at the restaurant. Personal employee items were seen stored at the back of the kitchen above the equipment. There were also personal employee bags that were kept on soda bottles, as per the report. Since the same food code has been violated two times, a third violation may cause the suspension of the permit.
In cases of other violations, inspectors saw metal tongs soiled with food residue stored as clean. They also saw an accumulation of food debris inside the microwave oven. The bottom of the prep cooler has water from the condenser accumulating inside it. The prep cooler also had a buildup of food debris on its gaskets. There were also two containers stored as clean with stickers still on them.
Concerning issues with the food storage at the restaurant, chicken tenders and mac and cheese were seen hot holding below the required temperature.
An Employee was seen wiping dining room tables using quat sanitizer solution below the required minimum concentration. The one step that was being used, with one wiping cloth in one sanitizer bucket, is not an approved method, the report stated. There were two other wiping cloths seen stored in two separate buckets with quat sanitizer below the minimum required concentration.
A spice shaker and multiple bags of spices that were not labeled with the common names were seen. A working container of degreaser was seen in the chemical storage area without labels.
Inspectors also saw an employee who was wearing a watch while handling the food. There was also an employee in the kitchen who was not wearing a hair or beard restraint.
Most Issues Resolved, Follow-up Inspections Scheduled
Among the violations mentioned above, most were resolved during the inspection under the supervision of the inspectors. Those issues that were not solved will have to be corrected by February 20. The full February 11 Scoville Hot Chicken Inspection Report is available to the public.
The restaurant will face an informal inspection on February 20, where the inspectors will verify that the uncorrected violations have been corrected. A follow-up inspection will also be conducted within the next 10 days. The additional required inspection will take place within 12 months. The report also had several other instructions for the restaurant mentioned.
Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale County Health Departments visited 33 establishments for inspection under the Food 2023 code on Tuesday. While 9 of those establishments scored a perfect 100, there were 16 that scored between 90 and 99 – of them received an “A” grade. There were also six that scored above 80 and a restaurant that scored above 70.
