Decatur wing restaurant fails inspection with score of 49

A Decatur restaurant that serves chicken wings scored a 49 out of 100 on a state health inspection last week — a failing grade that puts its permit at risk if it does not improve within 10 days.

What’s happening: Health inspectors visited Touchdown Wings at 1565 Church St. in Decatur on Oct. 23 and found more than a dozen violations, including food held at unsafe temperatures, dirty equipment, and workers handling food without washing their hands properly. The restaurant scored a 49, which is a “U.” Its previous score, from April, was an 84, a “B.” Before that, in June 2025, it had scored a 99.

What the inspector found: The violations covered a wide range of problems:

• Raw chicken and coleslaw were stored at temperatures above the safe limit of 41 degrees and had to be thrown away.
• A worker touched his mouth with a gloved hand and then went back to cooking without changing gloves or washing his hands. This was a repeat violation.
• A worker handled raw beef, then removed his gloves and started putting on a new pair without washing his hands first.
• A worker touched cheese slices with bare hands and placed them on a cheesesteak on the grill.
• Dishes and utensils stored as clean were visibly dirty, including ladles, lids, scoops, and metal pans.
• The sanitizer solution used to kill germs on surfaces was mixed too strong — more than double the safe limit — which can itself be a health hazard. This was a repeat violation.
• Food scraps were found dumped in a handwashing sink near the front of the restaurant. Workers also told the inspector they used that sink to fill sanitizer buckets. Handwashing sinks can only be used for handwashing.
• Grease and food debris had built up on fry baskets, floors, walls, and ceilings throughout the kitchen. The drain board above the three-compartment sink could not drain properly and had standing dirty water on it. Dirty fry baskets were a repeat violation. The overall grease buildup was also a repeat violation.
• Wet cleaning cloths were left sitting out instead of being stored in sanitizer solution between uses.
• Single-use plastic containers were being washed and reused.
• Workers had personal items like cell phones and speakers sitting on food prep tables and shelves.

What’s important: Georgia law requires a restaurant that scores a “U” to reach at least a “C” — meaning a score of 70 or higher — within 10 days, or the state can ask it to close voluntarily. If a restaurant scores a “U” on two inspections in a row, the state can also move to suspend or revoke its permit. A follow-up inspection is scheduled for Nov. 2.

The path forward: The restaurant has until Nov. 2 to show it has fixed the problems. If it does not score at least a 70 on that follow-up visit, the Georgia Department of Public Health can ask it to shut down. The restaurant’s rapid drop — from a 99 in June 2025 to a 49 now — means the follow-up inspection will carry significant weight.