DECATUR — A Checkers Drive-In Restaurant in Decatur scored a 61 on a routine health inspection last month, earning a failing grade and triggering a follow-up visit scheduled for Wednesday.
State health inspectors cited 12 violations at the restaurant at 3519 Memorial Drive during the July 29 inspection. The score of 61 falls in the unsatisfactory range. Inspectors are set to return August 12.
Gnats in the ice machine
Among the most alarming findings was the condition of the restaurant’s ice machine. Inspectors found black slime on the interior of the machine, along with live and dead gnats inside it. The machine was also damaged. Inspectors told the person in charge not to use the ice machine until it is repaired or replaced. This is the second time the restaurant has been cited for failing to keep food-contact surfaces clean and sanitized. The violation was not corrected during the inspection.
Flies, gnats throughout the kitchen
Inspectors counted six flies in the main kitchen, five live gnats in the main kitchen, and several dead gnats on a wall near the walk-in cooler. A door and a serving window that were not in use were both open at the time of the inspection. The pest violation carried a 3-point deduction and was not corrected on site.
Handwashing failures
Inspectors watched a food handler touch raw beef patties with gloved hands, place the patties on the grill, then remove the gloves and handle ready-to-eat food, including cooked chicken and bags, without washing hands first. The violation cost the restaurant 9 points. The employee was directed to wash hands, and the issue was corrected during the inspection.
The restaurant’s only hand sink had no soap at the time of the inspection, a 4-point deduction. The person in charge provided soap before inspectors left.
Cold holding temperatures, again
Temperature-controlled foods in the walk-in cooler were being held above the required 41 degrees Fahrenheit. The person in charge voluntarily threw out the food. The violation was corrected on site, but it cost the restaurant 9 points and carries extra weight because it is a repeat violation, meaning inspectors cited the same problem during a prior visit.
Additional violations
Inspectors also found a food handler wearing hand and wrist jewelry while handling food. Only a plain ring such as a wedding band is permitted under state food safety rules. That violation was not corrected during the inspection.
The physical condition of the kitchen drew a citation as well. Inspectors noted holes in the kitchen walls, grease and food residue built up on floors behind and under cooking equipment, stains on walls, and black stains on the walls of the walk-in cooler.
Other violations included wet pans stacked before air-drying, two boxes of single-use items stored directly on the floor rather than the required six inches off the ground, rusted shelving in the walk-in cooler, and heavy food and grease buildup inside a prep top cooler and in warmer drawers.
The Georgia Department of Public Health conducted the inspection under state food service regulations.
B.T. Clark is the Publisher of The Georgia Sun and author of Principles Are Like Pants… You Ought to Have Some. Over two decades in journalism, he has served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc., earning multiple awards along the way. His work has appeared in newspapers across the state, including The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal.
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
