Roaches, white fuzz and black gunk: Worst September restaurant inspections for Beaufort & Jasper
Nine Beaufort and Jasper County food businesses received B and C grades in September health inspections conducted by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.
Here is a rundown of the restaurants that received the lowest ratings:
Okan: 71 Calhoun Street, Bluffton
Okan scored an 82% (B) during a routine inspection on Sept. 2. Okan was then reinspected on Sept. 11 and scored a 93% with a C letter grade due to repeated infractions. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- Corn pudding, red red soup and cashew curry were held past their 7-day use-by date.
- The condenser in the walk-in cooler has a leak, causing water to leak onto unopened packages of food.
Okan was reinspected again on Sept. 19 and scored 98% (A).
Plantation Cafe Buckwalter: 20 Discovery Lane, Bluffton
Plantation Cafe Buckwalter scored a 73% (C) during a routine inspection on Sept. 10. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- The facility did not have a policy for vomit and fecal matter events.
- An employee went outside and did not wash their hands before putting on gloves.
- The kitchen handwashing sink was not supplied with paper towels, and several handwashing sinks did not have signage for employees to wash their hands.
- Fruits and vegetables that were decaying and/or had white fuzzy organic growth were stored with other in-use products.
- Cracked shell eggs were stored with intact eggs in the walk-in cooler.
- Containers of food in the walk-in cooler had a heavy accumulation of food debris and organic growth.
- Food in the walk-in cooler and at the bottom of the salad prep unit were uncovered and exposed to splashing.
- Packaged smoked salmon was thawing and stored on top of lidded containers of food.
- Slicer had a buildup of dried meat proteins and other food crumbs.
- Both the can opener and the inside of the ice machine had a buildup of black organic matter.
- Romaine lettuce, butter and eggs were held at incorrect cold holding temperatures.
- The date-marking policy was not being enforced or monitored.
- Chicken salad, potato salad, pancake mix, crab cake mix, lettuce, and eggs did not have or were held past their date marks.
- Opened buckets of pickles and pooled eggs were stored on the floor in the walk-in cooler and left under dripping condenser lines.
- Several wet, soiled wiping clothes were stored on the prep counter and in a bucket of water.
- A heavy accumulation of organic matter, dust and grime was seen on food storage shelves, floors and on the sides and tops of food equipment.
Plantation Cafe Buckwalter was reinspected on Sept. 12 and scored a 100% (A).
Wasabi Sushi: 103 Buckwalter Place, Suite 109, Bluffton
Wasabi Sushi scored an 80% (B) during a routine inspection on Sept. 10. Wasabi Sushi was then reinspected on Sept. 18 and scored a 91% with a C letter grade due to repeated infractions. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- Ready-to-eat cabbage was stored in direct contact with wire shelving in the reach-in cooler.
- Required chemical sanitization strips for the dishwasher were not available.
- WD40 was stored on top of the dishwasher.
- Scoops without handles were stored inside bulk food bins.
- The drain inside the dishwasher had a buildup of grime and black organic matter.
Wasabi Sushi was reinspected again on Sept. 26 and scored 100% (A).
Chophouse 119: 28 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head
Chophouse 119 scored an 80% (B) during a routine inspection on Sept. 16. Issues included:
- Cutting boards on the hot line had a heavy buildup of brown organic matter.
- The meat slicer had a buildup of dried meat proteins.
- Meatballs that were cooked the day before were improperly stored and cooled.
- Burrata, Gorgonzola, potatoes, butter, garlic in oil, and heat-treated eggs were held at the wrong cold holding temperatures.
- Mortadella, heat-treated prime rib, demi glace, and heat-treated lobster did not have date marks.
- The facility does not have a consumer advisory on its printed menus.
- A large, deep pan of meatballs in sauce was cooled improperly in the prep unit on the hot line.
- Live cockroaches were seen in the back line area, and dead cockroaches were seen under the prep units and back prep line.
- The kitchen hot line and main hot line are in poor repair and are unable to hold food at the required temperatures.
Chophouse 119 was reinspected on Sept. 24 and scored a 100% (A).
Long Cove Club: 44 Long Cove Drive, Hilton Head
Long Cove Club scored an 85% (B) during a routine inspection on Sept. 10. Issues included:
- Neither the downstairs nor the upstairs bars had paper towels or handwashing signs.
- The facility has a date marking system, but is not marking all ready-to-eat or temperature-controlled foods with proper discard dates.
- Demi glace, chopped garlic pesto, goat cheese, brown butter sauce, fig jam, and pickled red onions were held past the 7-day use-by date.
- Menus are missing consumer advisory and reminder statements for foods served raw or cooked to order.
- The facility is only approved for reduced oxygen packaging of raw meats and fish for 48-hour storage and is conducting cook-chill, packaging of cured meats and acidification.
- Several working containers of food are without a common name listed or a label.
- The dishwasher temperature measuring device was not working.
Long Cove Club was reinspected on Sept. 16 and scored a 100% (A).
Wayback Burgers: 4 Bluffton Road, Bluffton
Wayback Burgers scored an 81% (B) during a routine inspection on Sept. 4. Issues included:
- The “Mix & Chill” Shake machine was encrusted with dried-on food debris and large patches of organic white growth on food contact surfaces.
- Condiment squirt bottles were heavily soiled and encrusted with dried-on food debris.
- Onions and mushrooms were held at incorrect hot-holding temperatures on the double-boiler setup.
- Residential fly spray was stored in the kitchen.
- Milkshake prep sets were stored uncovered and unprotected under a sprinkler head with condensation drip.
- Wet and soiled wiping cloths are stored on the prep counter.
- A knife was stored between pieces of equipment.
- A knife that was in use at the sandwich station had missing rivets and a broken handle that is no longer easily cleanable.
- Unwrapped, single-use cutlery offered for consumer self-service had the food-lip contact surfaces pointing up.
- Sanitizing test strips were not provided.
Wayback Burgers was reinspected on Sept. 12 and scored a 100% (A).
La Nopalera Mexican Restaurant: 1220 Ribaut Road, Beaufort
La Nopalera Mexican Restaurant scored an 82% (B) during a routine inspection on Sept. 17. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- The hand-washing sink had a bag of raw chicken in the basin.
- Leaking bags of raw chicken were stored next to raw fish and above raw bacon and ready-to-eat foods.
- Pans that were stored as clean had food debris on them.
- The inside of the ice machine had a buildup of black organic matter.
- The facility does not have a date-marking system in place for ready-to-eat or temperature-controlled foods.
- Cooked beef, refried beans, cooked pork, cooked chicken, and cooked beans did not have labels identifying the proper discard date.
- Multiple flies were in the kitchen area.
- Food was stored on the floor of the walk-in cooler.
- A buildup of standing water was inside the prep cooler on the cook line.
La Nopalera Mexican Restaurant was reinspected on Sept. 26 and scored 100% (A).
7 Brew: 1553 Fording Island Road, Hilton Head
7 Brew scored a 97% with a B letter grade for repeated infractions during a follow-up inspection on Sept. 15. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- The person in charge was not certified.
- The facility did not have sanitizer test strips.
7 Brew was reinspected on Sept. 16 and scored 100% (A).
Dukes Bar-B-Que: 10190 South Jacob Smart Boulevard, Ridgeland
Dukes Bar-B-Que scored a (B) during a routine inspection on Sept. 4. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- The facility used a bleach with unapproved additives.
- Spray bottles of cleaner were not labeled
- A bag of rodent poison was left inside the kitchen.
- Open baited rodent traps were in the kitchen area, and rodent droppings were in the kitchen area.
- A dead rodent was under the buffet line.
- Raw chicken and uncovered cooked pork were stored in an area that is exposed to splashes.
- Spoons used to scoop rice out of a rice cooker were stored in contact with the handle of the rice cooker.
- The hood unit had a major buildup of grease.
- Shelving units had a buildup of food debris.
- The ceiling of the walk-in cooler was in poor repair.
- The floor under the deep fryers had a major buildup of grease.
No follow-up inspection was conducted, as the owner permanently closed the restaurant on Sept. 9. It is currently for sale.
What the grades mean
Inspectors give restaurants a grade of A, B or C, depending on the conditions found at the time. Points are docked for various infractions, and restaurants have a chance to correct the problems and improve their score in a reinspection.
The grade scale is as follows:
- A: 88% to 100%
- B: 78% to 87%
- C: 77% or less
In Sept., the SCDA recorded 223 inspections of restaurants, schools, stores, and other food establishments in Beaufort County and 34 in Jasper County.
The agency publishes the results of these health inspections on its website.
Newer food-grade decals include a QR code that customers can scan with their phones to see a food establishment’s latest report.
How to request an inspection
If there is an establishment for which you wish to request an inspection, you can submit a concern to the SCDA by filling out the Food Safety Complaint Form.
To learn more about how the grading system and inspections work, click here.
