Matt's Chicago Dog, Northern Roots Cafe: Cornelius Kitchen Grades

CORNELIUS, NC — Six Charlotte-area restaurants saw their health ratings drop recently after inspections found numerous health code violations, ranging from employees not washing their hands, to hot dogs stored in grocery bags and cockroaches crawling on the floor.

In Cornelius, two restaurant kitchens were inspected, both keeping their A rating.

Here are the Cornelius restaurants recently inspected, along with their grades:

• Matt’s Chicago Dog, 19732 One Norman Boulevard — 98.5/ A
• Northern Roots Cafe, 19420 Jetton Road — 96/ A

Do you truly know how clean your favorite coffee shop or restaurant is? Find out with the most recent restaurant and food service inspections in Charlotte, Huntersville, Davidson, and elsewhere in Mecklenburg County, performed by the Mecklenburg County Health Department.

County health officials recently inspected 186 restaurants in the Charlotte-metro area. Some of the lowest health grades found during those inspections were at:

• Supermercado El Mariachi Restaurant/Market, 6301 N. Tryon St. — 87.5/ B
• China Express/ Ming’s Restaurant, 315 S. Polk St. — 86/ B
• Red Sea Eritrean & Ethiopian Cuisine, 4301 Monroe Rd. - 86/B
• Ely Tortilleria, 6301 N. Tryon St. — 86/ B
• Wok Bo, 527 Little Rock Rd. — 84.5/ B
• Chinatown Restaurant, 2910 Mt. Holly Huntersville Rd. — 80.5/ B

An inspection at Chinatown Restaurant found 17 violations, including a small bed found in the drink service area, cigarettes and ashtray in a side kitchen, employees not washing their hands, cabbage placed “directly on dirty laminate flooring used to cover shelves,” as well as the majority of all food contact surfaces were dirty and in need of cleaning.

At Supermercado El Mariachi Restaurant, a Feb. 21 inspection found 13 violations, including hot dogs stored in a grocery bag, a pot of cooked beef sitting on the floor, and chicken thawing in a bucket of standing water on the floor.

A Feb. 22 inspection at Red Sea Eritrean & Ethiopian Cuisine found 15 violations, including plates, bowls and utensils found stored and “heavily soiled with food debris,” live cockroaches crawling on the floor, dead flies on kitchen window seal, and areas of the kitchen in need of a deep cleaning.

Results from the Mecklenburg County Health Department inspections done Feb. 20 - Feb. 26, 2019 are listed below. You may look up your favorite restaurant or find more detailed information about this latest batch of inspections here.

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