Tupelo Honey Cafe Health Grade Dropped: What An Inspection Found

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte’s Tupelo Honey Cafe saw its health grade drop after a recent inspection of its kitchen turned up 12 violations, according to county health officials. Recent health inspections at more than 100 Charlotte-metro restaurants found a variety of violations, from employees touching raw meat before ready-to-eat food to dirty dishes with stuck-on food.

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 141 restaurants in the Charlotte-metro area. Some of the lowest health grades found during those inspections were at:

• Tupelo Honey Cafe, 1820 South Boulevard, Charlotte — 88/ B
• The Peculiar Rabbit, 1212 Pecan Avenue — 90/ A
• Los Pinos Mexican Restaurant, 911 N. Wendover Road — 90.5/ A
• Hyatt Place Charlotte Airport Tyvola Road, 2950 Oak Lake Blvd. — 90.5/ A

An inspection at Tupelo Honey Cafe found a dozen violations that included boxes of unwashed produce stored above cut cucumbers, stored food left uncovered, numerous items found soiled but stored as clean, food not kept at proper temperatures and numerous undated food items that had to be thrown out.

On Feb. 11, Tupelo Honey’s score improved with re-inspection that brought its score up to 97/ A.

Five violations were reported during an inspection at The Peculiar Rabbit, including uncovered broth and pickled foods, as well as kitchen equipment in need of repair and cleaning. “Observed hummus, pasta salad, boursin, romesco, tapenade, pimento cheese, pork belly held greater than 7 days,” the report said.

At Los Pinos Mexican Restaurant, 12 violations were reported, including an employee handling raw meat before touching doors, clean plates and ready-to-eat foods, raw chicken stored over ready-to-eat pork and chicken in the prep cooler, raw steak cut on a cutting board used for ready-to-eat food preparation and salsa stored in old sour cream containers.

The restaurant kitchen at the Hyatt Place Charlotte Airport, 14 violations were found, ranging from dirty dishes stored with food debris and dirty shelves in need of cleaning to numerous items of food without dates and a contamination risk of a plastic utensil holder and plunger found in a sink together.

Results from the Mecklenburg County Health Department inspections done Jan. 23 - Jan. 29, 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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