Cooking with bare hands, mold, slime, and soiled floors: Jefferson County’s worst restaurant health ratings
Seven Jefferson County restaurants scored 84 or below when they were inspected by the county Health Department in February, meaning that they will need to be reinspected by the county within the next 60 days.
Among the violations spotted by county health inspectors include a cook handling food with their bare hands, “mold and slime” inside drink nozzles and floors soiled by “liquid, residue and debris.
Here are those seven establishments, in order from highest score to lowest:
Wing City
3094 Allison Bonnett Memorial Dr., Hueytown
Score: 84
Critical violations: 2
Inspection date: Feb. 9
An inspector found five food handlers without food safety training, which cost Wing City four points.
Wing City was also cited for a cleaner being stored on a shelf above the refrigerator maketable – a five-point deduction.
The restaurant had food containers and bowls stacked while wet, a condensation leak in the freezer and a missing drain plug for the dumpster, among other infractions.
Concord Travel Center
4795 Hwy. 78 West, Graysville
Score: 82
Critical violations: 3
Inspection date: Feb. 5
Concord Travel Center’s three critical violations were all worth four points.
The travel stop was cited for not providing food safety training to all food handlers.
It also did not have soap in the men’s bathroom while a large container of cooked ground beef was stored without a date mark.
Ceiling tiles were missing because of a water leak.
Hollywood Chevron
2909 Independence Dr., Homewood
Score: 82
Critical violations: 4
Inspection date: Feb. 14
This Homewood gas station convenience store had five violations, with four of them considered critical four- or five-point violations.
Chicken wings did not have a discard time.
“Mold and slime” was found inside drink nozzles.
Several pizza ingredients were not marked with a date, causing the person in charge to discard all the items.
There were also no towels at either hand sink.
Little Caesar’s
406 West Valley Ave., Homewood
Score: 82
Critical violations: 3
Inspection date: Feb. 13
Little Caesar’s lost 14 points from critical violations alone.
Chemical spray bottles were stored on the food rack, which cost the pizza joint five points.
It lost another five points because the establishment was unable to show proof that it communicated an employee health policy to its workers.
Little Caesar’s also couldn’t find test strips to measure the concentration of sanitizing solutions.
An inspector also cited Little Caesar’s for a leaky faucet and having the side doors and lids on two dumpsters open.
Cracker Barrel #368
4710 Norrell Dr., Trussville
Score: 78
Critical violations: 3
Inspection date: Feb. 5
The Trussville Cracker Barrel lost 14 points just from critical violations.
The grill cook was seen loading raw sausage patties onto the grill with her bare hands, then handled clean dishware for plating a customer order. She eventually washed her hands properly after she was interrupted and told to do so.
The inspector also noticed damaged floor tiles and flooring that needed to be regrouted.
There was also grease drippage from the top of the filter mounts, ceiling and edge of the canopies in the ventilation hood system.
Condensation leaks from plumbing lines was falling from the ceiling onto food packaging, shelving and the floor.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
7909 Crestwood Blvd., Birmingham
Score: 78
Critical violations: 4
Inspection date: Feb. 19
KFC on Crestwood Boulevard lost 17 points alone from critical violations.
It lost five points for not providing employees with a health policy.
Another four points was deducted from KFC’s score because the person in charge “had no vomit and diarrhea clean up procedures in place,” according to the inspector’s report.
Four points were also knocked off KFC’s score because of no paper towels at the hand sink and no chemical test strips in the establishment.
The floors were also found to be “soiled with liquid, residue and debris.”
Taziki’s Restaurant
4520 Overton Rd., Birmingham
Score: 77
Critical violations: 4
Inspection date: Feb. 8
Taziki’s four critical violations knocked 17 points off its score, which was the lowest of any Jefferson County establishment in February.
Its worst violation – costing Taziki’s five points – was for a block of cheddar cheese sitting on a shelf in the dry storage area at 55 degrees when it should have been at 41 degrees or below.
The inspector also noticed residue on a can opener and several utensils in storage “soiled with debris.”
Meanwhile, several pans were stacked while wet and handwashing signs were missing at several hand sinks.