Rodent droppings, fruit flies & mold. Worst Beaufort, Jasper January restaurant inspections
11 Beaufort County food businesses and one Jasper County location received B and C grades in January health inspections conducted by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.
Here is a rundown of the restaurants that received the lowest ratings for the month and why they scored poorly:
Bojangles: 109 Robert Smalls Parkway, Beaufort
Bojangles had a routine inspection on Jan. 7 and scored an 84% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:
- Some sinks in the kitchen had no hand soap or were without paper towels.
- Metal pots and pans were stored as clean but had a buildup of food debris on them.
- Raw bacon and ham were held at incorrect cold holding temperatures.
- Fruit flies were in the drain under the serving counter.
- There was a large gap between the back door and the wall that leads to the outside.
- Wet metal pans stacked on top of each other, which prevents drying.
- Single-use items were stored in boxes on the floor.
- A cooler was in poor condition and could not hold the correct temperatures.
- A hot holding unit had a major buildup of grease and food debris.
- Kitchen shelves were not clean to the sight or touch.
- There were missing and broken floor and ceiling tiles.
- The areas under the prep sink, triple sink and grease tank had a buildup of debris.
It was reinspected on Jan. 15 and scored an 87% with a C letter grade, and again on Jan. 23 and scored a 93% with a C letter grade, both for repeated infractions.
Bojangles was last inspected on Jan. 28 and scored a 99% (A).
Johnson Creek Tavern & Restaurant: 2141 Sea Island Parkway, St. Helena
Johnson Creek Tavern & Restaurant had a routine inspection on Jan. 21 and scored a 71% (C). Issues noted by inspectors included:
- Packages of white cheese had green organic growth.
- Plates and hotel pans were stored as clean, with visible spills and debris.
- Grits and potato soup were held at incorrect hot holding temperatures.
- Raw hamburger patties, butter, buttermilk, peppers, onions, tomatoes and pico de gallo were held at incorrect cold holding temperatures.
- A bleach spray bottle was hanging over the tabletop ice bath.
- Uncovered rodent bait stations were seen throughout the dry storage area.
- Mahi left in the package was fully thawed in the walk-in cooler with instructions to remove it from the package before thawing.
- Rodent droppings were seen throughout the facility.
- Food and to-go containers were stored on the floor of the walk-in freezer.
- Pans were stored wet and stacked in a way that prevents drying.
- Cutting boards had deep scratches and black marks, meaning they were no longer cleanable.
- The walk-in cooler did not reach the proper temperature.
- The dish machine had a heavy buildup of grime and organic matter.
- The fan over the seafood tabletop prep cooler had a buildup of hanging dust.
Johnson Creek Tavern & Restaurant was reinspected on Jan. 28 and scored a 100% (A).
Basil & Bourbon: 198 Okatie Village Drive, Suite 105, Okatie
Basil & Bourbon, formerly Nonna Rosa, held a routine inspection on Jan. 6 and scored a 70% (C). Issues noted included:
- A food handler cut ready-to-eat herbs with bare hands.
- No hand drying items were available at the hot line and back prep line hand sinks.
- A Parmesan cheese wheel had a heavy accumulation of green organic matter and white furry growth.
- Black organic matter was seen inside soda nozzles.
- Tomato sauce was held at incorrect hot holding temperatures.
- Raw shrimp, cooked beef, pancetta and heavy cream were held at incorrect cold holding temperatures.
- The facility has a date-marking system in place, but items including tomato sauce, cooked sausage, cooked beef, cooked chicken breast and cooked eggplant did not have date marks.
- A chemical spray bottle of Windex was without an identifying label at the bar area.
- Salmon was thawing in packaging, with instructions to remove it from the packaging before thawing.
- Ice from the condenser inside the walk-in freezer was frozen onto unopened packages of food.
- The tabletop cooler could not reach the proper temperature, and the reach-in freezer had a buildup of ice.
- The dish machine and microwave had a heavy buildup of grime and organic matter.
- The hood vents had a buildup of grease.
Basil & Bourbon was reinspected on Jan. 13 and scored a 100% (A).
OKKO: 95 Mathews Drive, Suite C, Hilton Head
OKKO was inspected on Jan. 6 and scored a 70% (C). Issues noted by inspectors included:
- A food handler was eating directly over a bus tub of clean bowls. Another handler was eating soup at an active prep table.
- Three different instances were recorded where food handlers did not wash their hands before handling food.
- No handwashing signage was provided at the employee bathroom.
- A whole raw chicken was in a storage bin with ready-to-eat clams, a raw unwrapped lobster tail and a raw fish filet. Unprotected raw shrimp was also stored below a bin of raw ground pork.
- Egg rolls were not properly cooled. Items including cream cheese, raw salmon, bass, crab and rice were held at wrong cold holding temperatures.
- Cooked rice was held at the wrong hot holding temperatures.
- A working spray bottle of glass cleaner had no identifying label.
- Cold and flu medicine was stored with food above a prep table.
- Wet and soiled wiping cloths were left on prep surfaces and shelving throughout the facility.
- A cup with no handle was used as a scoop in chili sauce.
- The bar soda gun was heavily soiled with organic matter.
- The walk-in refrigerator shelving, soup kettles, microwave and ice machine had dried on food debris and were soiled.
- Ceiling tiles and a wall/floor juncture were damaged. Floor areas had excessive food waste, trash and debris.
OKKO was reinspected on Jan. 14 and scored a 99% (A).
New York City Pizza: 81 Heritage Plaza, Hilton Head
New York City Pizza held a routine inspection on Jan. 14 and scored an 82% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:
- An employee entered the kitchen and began working without washing their hands.
- The butter wheel had an accumulation of food debris, and a soiled knife was left on the tabletop prep cooler.
- Dough pans stored as clean had a buildup of black organic matter.
- The deli slicer has an accumulation of food debris and dried-on meat.
- Cooked meatballs, chicken wings, cut garlic and deli chubs do not have a best by date marking.
- The main kitchen, pizza room, dishwashing room and bar area had a swarm of fruit flies.
- Multiple dead roaches were around the kitchen hot line, bar area and inside the tabletop prep cooler.
- Shrimp and fish were stored in standing water.
- Soiled and broken-down cardboard boxes were used as shelf liners.
- The prep cooler was leaking, and the doors are in poor condition.
- The tile base is missing between the stove and the back door. The main kitchen floors were also dirty.
- The ceiling above the pizza prep area had a heavy layer of hanging dust.
New York City Pizza was reinspected on Jan. 23 and scored a 97% (A).
Antojitos Agustin: 117 Mathews Drive, Hilton Head
Antojitos Agustin was inspected on Jan. 13 and scored a 91% with a B letter grade for repeated infractions from a Jan. 7 inspection. Issues included:
- The person in charge is not certified.
- The facility is offering empanadas that were donated.
- Cut melon was kept at incorrect cold holding temperatures.
- The chest freezer was in poor repair.
Antojitos Agustin was reinspected on Jan. 20 and scored a 98% (A).
Bluffton Elementary School: 160 H.E. McCracken Circle, Bluffton
Bluffton Elementary School was inspected on Jan. 30 and scored a 97% with a B letter grade for a repeated infraction:
- The three-bay sink had no detectable sanitizer for dishwashing as required.
Bluffton Elementary School has not been reinspected as of Feb. 2, but one is required within 10 days.
Centro Mex Deluxe: 15 Marshland Road, Hilton Head
Centro Mex Deluxe had a routine inspection on Jan. 30 and scored an 80% (B). Issues included:
- The person in charge was not certified.
- A food handler used a personal cell phone, then touched food and utensils without washing their hands.
- A block of cheese was stored in the basin of the hand sink.
- Ready-to-eat lettuce and a peeled plantain were stored in direct contact with the wire shelving of the reach-in cooler.
- Knives were stored as clean that were unclean to both sight and touch, with dried food debris.
- The facility does not have an active date-marking system.
- The digital food probe is not functional.
- The screen on the back door is broken, allowing pests in.
- Unwrapped single-use utensils were stored handle down.
- Sanitizing test strips were not available.
Centro Mex Deluxe has not been reinspected as of Feb. 2, but one is required within 10 days.
House of Tang: 1211 Ribaut Road, Beaufort
House of Tang had a routine inspection on Jan. 12 and scored an 82% (B). Issues included:
- A box that was previously used for raw chicken was storing vegetables.
- Bowls, pans and knives were stored as clean but not clean to sight or touch.
- An employee used the triple sink as a prep area, while the drain board and sink were not clean to the sight or touch.
- The facility does not have a date marking system in place for ready-to-eat and temperature-controlled foods.
- Cooked egg rolls, cooked beef, cooked chicken and cooked noodles were without labels identifying the proper discard date.
- Large pans of raw chicken were placed in the triple sink to thaw without running water.
- The back door was left open, with the screen door in poor repair.
- Rodent droppings were seen near the deep freezers and under the triple sink area.
- Food stored in the stand-up freezer was in contact with frost from the freezer. There was a buildup of ice and food debris.
- The wire shelving in the area in front of the walk-in cooler was not clean to the sight or touch.
- The kitchen restroom had the door open and no self-closing device.
House of Tang was reinspected on Jan. 21 and scored a 100% (A).
La Familia: 435 William Hilton Parkway, Suite MN, Hilton Head
La Familia had a routine inspection on Jan. 13 and scored a 78% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:
- The person in charge is not certified.
- A food handler was eating over a prep table.
- The kitchen hand sink was blocked for use by multiple items in the basin.
- Ready-to-eat desserts for sale were made in a private home.
- Jalapeno and habanero peppers had visible decay and organic growth.
- Salsa, ham, cheese and sausage were held at incorrect cold holding temperatures.
- A spray bottle of bleach solution had no identifying label as required.
- The walk-in cooler cannot hold the correct temperature. The walk-in refrigerator is also in poor repair.
- Beef suadero was thawing in ambient standing water.
- The facility is packaging cheese and offering it for retail sale with no labeling information.
- Soiled utensils were stored in standing water.
La Familia was reinspected on Jan. 14 and scored a 96% (A).
Miramare Italian: 27 Market Street, Beaufort
Miramare Italian had a routine inspection on Jan. 13 and scored an 82% (B). Issues included:
- Kitchen handsink was not usable.
- No paper towels were available in the kitchen.
- The facility is not dating shellstock tags with the last day that clams are sold.
- Raw fish was stored above ready-to-eat food in the prep cooler and walk-in cooler. Raw chicken was stored next to ready-to-eat foods.
- An employee used a cell phone that was resting on the cutting board and did not sanitize the cutting board after removing the phone.
- Meatballs and marinara sauce were held at incorrect hot holding temperatures.
- Cooked lasagna, pasta, cooked beef and cheesecake did not have labels identifying the proper discard date.
Miramare Italian was reinspected on Jan. 21 and scored a 100% (A).
Agave Azul Tacos and Tequila: 51 Riverwalk Boulevard, Ridgeland
Agave Azul Tacos and Tequila had a routine inspection on Jan. 12 and scored an 85% (B). Issues included:
- No handwashing signage was seen at the handwashing station on the hot line.
- Beans, pork, chicken and beef were held at the wrong cold holding temperatures.
- Multiple bottles of pain medication were stored over clean plates and cutlery.
- Containers of lemons were stored in ice at the soda station.
- A whole fish was stored in standing water.
- The reach-in cooler could not reach the correct temperature.
- The dish machine had a buildup of grime and organic matter.
- The microwave had a buildup of food debris, and the tabletop prep cooler had an excessive buildup of water.
Agave Azul Tacos and Tequila was reinspected on Jan. 20 and scored a 100% (A).
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 January, the SCDA recorded 247 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.
