Lenoir County restaurant inspections
The following restaurant inspections were conducted by the Lenoir County Health Department:
Herritage Elite
910 N Herritage Street, Kinston
Date: 11/19
Score: 93
Observations:
Staff states that no one is being trained on food-borne illnesses or the requirement to report the illnesses to the health department.
Staff was observed emptying dirty plates then going to open the oven without washing hands. They were also observed to not use a paper towel to turn off the faucet.
The chest freezer in the storage room has several different kinds of frozen meats all mixed up together. These meats shall be stored so that like species are stored together and not mixed.
The person in charge was wearing a watch but she was not doing any food prep work. Food service staff shall not wear any jewelry other than a plain wedding band type ring.
The freezer is not approved per ANSI requirements. This should be replaced with a commercial grade upright where foods can be stored properly.
The flat griddle that is rarely used has damaged non stick surface and shall be taken out of service.
More cleaning attention is needed to the stove, hood filters, back of fryer, shelving, exterior of unused equipment, inside the 2 door refrigerator and the bottom of the 2 door freezer.
The facility has obtained a new dumpster but it needs to have a drain plug installed.
There is still an accumulation of leaves and excess storage including shelving in the dumpster corral. Remove these items as they can be vermin harborage areas.
The floors under the shelving in dry storage shall be kept cleaned. There are old dried onions, bottles and other items under them. Clean the walls better around the cook area.
There is a bulb out under the hood. Have this replaced.
Bill's Grill
129 S Caswell Street, La Grange
Date: 11/12
Score: 90
Observations:
Establishment did not have an employee health policy on site.
Establishment did not have a written procedure for employees to follow when responding to vomiting or diarrheal events in the food establishment.
Employee observed washing hands, then turning off the faucet with washed hands and not using a single use towel as a barrier. Employee recontaminated hands. Employees shall use a single use towel to turn off faucets after hand washing to prevent recontamination of hands.
Ice machine contained black mildew today. Dispensing spoon and mallet also found dirty.
Chlorine dish machine 0-10 ppm today. Chlorine dish machine is not working properly and sanitizing dishes. Chlorine dish machine shall sanitize dishes at 50-100 ppm.
TCS foods not 41 degrees F or below today: Cooler drawers under grill: raw hamburger steaks 43 degrees F; raw chicken 42-43 degrees F. Lift top prep cooler: boiled eggs 43 degrees F; ham 42-43 degrees F. All TCS foods shall be maintained and held at 41 degrees F or below.
Several sauces in bottles were not labeled today. Dressings in salad cooler not labeled.
Back door is in poor repair; the door frame is broken and the screen is torn in several areas which is allowing for insects to enter the facility.
Flies present in facility today. Fly strip contained large amounts of dead flies. Need to implement more pest control measures in facility to eliminate pest presence.
Box of chicken observed stored on the floor in the walk in cooler.
Food processor is not NSF or equivalent. Midea Freezer is not approved from commercial use.
Clean shelving in walk in cooler; contains grease and old accumulated food debris. Detailed cleaning needed in steamer; where water is stored and top part of unit contains heavy carbon and grease build up. Clean insides of reach in freezers to remove accumulated food debris. Deep cleaning needed inside and around fryers. Clean outside of sugar container; it is very sticky and contains tea spills. Clean table where flat top grill sits on to remove grease accumulation. Heating unit where French fries are stored has heavy grease build up. Clean inside of oven to remove food debris. Clean pan on shelving beside stove/oven that is holding soy sauce and sauce packets. Packaging on 2 door freezers is coming apart and is not easily cleanable. Remove this material.
Floor cleaning needed under soda machine where sugar has spilled, in back storage area under shelving.
Clean drains to remove old food debris build up.
Bulb is not working in reach in freezer. Lighting shall be at least 20 ft candles inside of reach in coolers.
Little Aggies
2438 Hwy 11 S, Kinston
Date: 11/06
Score: 90
Observations:
Flies observed in kitchen.
Owner's food still being stored amongst restaurant food in refrigerators, on two different shelves. Personal food shall be stored in approved location below and adequately separated from restaurant food.
Upon arriving, owner was not wearing hair net but was outside of the kitchen. He put one on before entering. Owner's wife did not have any hair restraint on in the kitchen. Employees shall effectively contain hair to prevent contamination from occurring.
Store cleaned equipment, utensils, linens in a clean, dry location; where they are not exposed to splash, dust, or other contamination; and at least 6 inches above the floor. Tabletop mixer stored on the floor with a bag covering it, in the back room.
Boxes of single-service items stored on the floor throughout the back storage room.
Domestic, dorm-type refrigerator has been installed for the storage of frozen foods in the cook area since EHS was last there. This unit is not approved.
Lid for lift-top refrigerator is damaged and will not stay up without being propped or held with a piece of wire. The underside of the lid is about to fall out and is separated from the top of the lid. Tape is currently holding it together. Tape holding top of lift top together cannot be easily cleaned.
Cutting board observed to have deep groves present.
Build up present on gaskets, bottoms and doors of equipment.
Bucket still under 3 comp sink for leak, leak observed during inspection. The faucet at the 3-comp sink is also leaking.
Dumpster is currently sitting on the ground.
Provide a wall to floor joint that is sealed and coved when flood cleaning methods are used. Floor must be graded to drain to functioning floor drains. There is a gap between the wall and the floors in a few areas in the kitchen with no coving, baseboard, etc. to cover the gap.
Lighting in back room with both lights on reaches around 3 foot candles. Dry storage areas shall be at the required lighting intensity of least 10 foot candles at 30 inches above the ground. There are several lighting fixtures on ceiling that are missing bulbs.
R-Mart Inc. DBA The Farmhouse
3486 Old Hwy 11, Deep Run
Date: 11/06
Score: 100
Observations:
2 door refrigeration unit has a puddle of water under it and coming out on the side. Unit is holding temperatures properly, so the water could be coming from defrost.
Leak present at both hand wash sink (under the sink at the pipe) and at the 3 compartment sink (leak present at faucet).
Byrds Restaurant
196 Hwy 58 S, Kinston
Date: 11/04
Score: 97.5
Observations:
Sanitizer in bucket was too strong.
One bowl found in clean dishes with flour still stuck on.
Cheese stacked high on front line. Bottom of cheese was 40 degrees, but the top was temping around 48-49.
Three bottles missing labels.
Two bottles of chemicals on shelf over 2 comp sink, where unpackaged chicken was thawing.
Cooked steak wrapped in "inside out" tin foi, which meat touching the sharpie markings.
Ice scoop resting on top of the ice machine.
Rusty shelving units in walk in cooler.
There are no lights at all in the outside storage barn. This barn is only used for dry storage, previously it was used for personal/holiday items. Now that it is used for dry storage for the establishment, there is a required lighting intensity of at least 10 foot candles.
Carolina Pizzeria and Grill
3647 W Vernon Avenue, Kinston
Date: 11/03
Score: 90.5
Observations:
Establishment did not have written plan to follow when responding to vomit or diarrheal events that may occur in the facility.
Owner walked in and out of the walk in cooler several times, touched dirty dishes and equipment, then proceeded to put on gloves for an order without washing hands.
Meat slicer contained dried food debris and splatter. White containers used to hold bread dough contain heavy amounts of grease and grease build up. Dishes in dough/slicer prep room contain grease build up and food splatter. Can opener had large amounts of build up on food contact surface area that enters the can. Ice machine contained mold and mildew on ice baffle/shield area and around ice chute.
Buckets of various sauces and dressings not labeled today.
Container of sugar by wait station area is not labeled.
Flies present in facility today. One live roach seen in facility today.
Knives and spatulas stored in small hot holding unit. A small amount of water was in the bottom of the pan with the utensils. During times of food preparation and dispensing, utensils that are stored in water shall be maintained at a temperature of 135 degrees F. The water shall be at a depth to sufficiently remove particulates and food debris from the utensils.
Five domestic freezers located in facility used to store potentially hazardous foods. These are not approved for commercial food service.
Walk in cooler door is not making a solid seal; does not close completely. Lids on pizza prep cooler are broken. Tape is located around top of Robo Coupe holding handle on unit. All equipment shall be in good repair. Several units in back storage area of facility are no longer in use and not working.
No 3-compartment sink installed, only a dish machine with a 1 compartment sink used as a prewash. A 3-compartment sink shall be installed, or a variance shall be in place allowing a dish machine only for washing utensils.
Gray shelving, inside and outside of fryers, insides of all coolers. All freezers have heavy ice build up and need to be defrosted. Vents that are in hood are very greasy. Outside of dough mixer has large amounts of food splatter. Shelving in walk in cooler contains heavy amounts of food accumulation.
No covered trash can in employee restroom by wait station or in women's restroom.
Doors and lids and open on dumpster today. Keep doors and lids closed to prevent pest presence.
Door on one side of dumpster is missing.
Food splash and splatter is present throughout all walls of facility. Floors need to be cleaned under all equipment. Pipes and plumbing on walls and floors need much cleaning. Wall area behind food prep sink that is pieced together with wood needs much cleaning around the foam and caulking.
Drain by ladies toilet in women's restroom is in poor repair; broken tiles around this area. Wall behind hand washing sink at wait station area is in poor repair and held together with wood. Wall behind prep sink is held together with wood.
Vents are missing from hood system. Owner stated vents were missing due to cleaning. Large amounts of grease are dripping from vents in hood and collected on ANSL system. Replace vents and filters to remove grease from food preparation areas and large amounts of grease accumulation on other areas in the establishment.
Neuse News is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to provide free, hyper-local news to Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties. The kind of news our grandparents read in a format fit for today's times.
We provide this by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.

