State health inspectors spent nearly two hours inside Joe’s Garage at Shelby’s Trio Friday afternoon, leaving one of Clarksville’s newest restaurants with 11 pounds of embargoed food and a scathing score of 65. High on the long list of violations – the inspector says the restaurant “is not maintaining any managerial control over risk factors for foodborne illness. Raw salmon stored over ready-to-eat food, other food items being served past their expiration date, and running the dishwasher without any chlorine/sanitizer were some of the top violations found during the visit. Ready-to-serve milk inside the server station’s reach-in-cooler temped at 51 degrees, causing 4 pounds to be embargoed. The house-made ranch dressing and gorgonzola dressing were both in the prep cooler; both expired 2-3 days earlier, with all 5 pounds embargoed. An additional 2 pounds of pickled onions were also embargoed, as the restaurant was not operating under an approved plan for pickling preservation, which is required by the state. Smaller violations included an employee’s Theraflu was stored on top of utensils, an employee’s bag stored on food prep table, and another on top of potatoes.
Tag: Restaurant Scores
Strawberry Alley Ale Works dishes still not washed correctly, per Dept of Health
An Inspector with the Tennessee Department of Health visited Strawberry Alley Ale Works Friday and issued a critical violation for improper dishwashing — the third such violation within a year and the fourth in their history.
Despite multiple tests, the dishwashing machine would only heat to between 148 and 156 degrees using a plate thermometer run through several times. A technician was called yet again, and the restaurant was instructed to use a three-compartment sink to hand wash the dishes until the unit could be serviced. Management claimed the machine’s temperature is checked twice a day, so they did not understand how it was not working now; however, they were unable to provide any log of temperature checks.
In March 2023, during an inspection, an employee simply raised a utensil to clean it, using no soap or sanitizer prior to using it for food preparation. An October inspection also revealed the same temperature issue as the most recent inspection — a problem that also was revealed in a 2021 inspection.
Overall, the restaurant scored an 88 on the current inspection, with that being the only critical violation. Other violations included cheese sauce at an improper temperature, milk and half-and-half too warm at over 50 degrees, and other temperature issues in the prep cooler, along with a slimy black residue built up inside the ice machine.
The Mailroom scores 83; permit revocation warning letter from health department
A state health inspector visited The Mailroom in downtown Clarksville Thursday for a routine inspection. The inspector requested the restaurant to be issued a permit revocation warning letter due to repeat priority violations, specifically for proper food-holding temperatures. On today’s visit, prepped turkey was temping too warm; two pounds were embargoed. During the last routine inspection, mashed potatoes, raw steak, and melon were all out of temperature, with 12 pounds of food embargoed. Other violations today included proper hand washing and a dish machine that was not reaching the proper 160 F temperature. A follow-up inspection will happen within 10 days.
Strawberry Alley Ale Works: Issued Permit Revocation Warning Letter & moldy strawberries
After an October 17th routine inspection, the Department of Health is processing permit revocation warning letters for repeated health code violations that remain unresolved after multiple repeat inspections at Strawberry Alley Ale Works in downtown Clarksville, where they received a score of 73. After the warning letters, the restaurant could be ordered to stop operating if the same violation remains unresolved on the next inspection.
Additionally, 100 pounds of food was embargoed during the most recent inspection. Other violations included moldy strawberries, the dish machine wouldn’t get hot enough to properly clean, and eight-day-old guacamole in the prep line cooler.
Mickey’s Downtown scores 77: cockroaches crawling on kitchen walls & in coolers
A Health Department inspector visited Mickey’s Downtown Friday and noted, among multiple other serious issues, there were cockroaches on the outside and inside of the reach-in cooler and several cockroaches crawling on the kitchen walls. The restaurant was also operating a dish machine without using sanitizer and had no posted permit to operate.
Riverside Drive Waffle House scores 62 on Health Inspection
With 5 pounds of food embargoed, and some violations issued for the 8th consecutive time, Waffle House on Riverside Drive received a score of 62 on a routine health inspection Wednesday. This is the lowest score ever for this location, which once received an 88 in October of 2021 as the prior lowest score. Employees will be forced to wash dishes by hand until the dishwasher is repaired, as it was not properly heating, and stop placing their phones on the cutting boards where food is prepared, another multiple other remedies before the follow-up inspection within a few days.
La Plaza on Riverside scored 74 by Health Dept; long history of low scores on surprise inspections
State Health Inspectors say they walked into La Plaza #3 on Riverside Drive Wednesday to find no soap or hot water at the hand-washing sink, raw food stores above ready-to-eat foods that could be dripped on, a dish-washing machine with zero chlorine, raw shrimp and steak that was too warm had to be embargoed, knives stores behind wall trim, and an abundance of gnats.
In August of 2020, their routine inspection scored a 77 with a follow-up of 93; in March of 2020, the restaurant scored a 55, with a follow-up of 92, and last November they managed to score a 65, with a follow-up of 94 — setting a clear trend that rules are only followed for a short period after being caught breaking them.
Rudy’s Diner struggles to earn an 82 on Health Inspection: Ants & Employee Hygiene
An inspector with the Department of Health visited Rudy’s Diner on Madison Street on Monday for nearly an hour, and the local favorite struggled to earn an 82 for their Health Inspection Score. Major violations included an employee pulling up his pants with a gloved hand and never changing gloves while continuing to work with food, while another touched a person’s toast with their bare hands prior to serving it. There were ants crawling on the wall above the sink, and the dishwashing machine never reached 160 degrees for proper sanitation.
The dish machine was taken out of service, and all dishes must be hand washed until repaired. One year ago, during the May of 2021 inspection, the dish machine also was not reaching proper sanitization temperatures.
Whitt’s BBQ receives 68 on health inspection 30 pounds of weeks old meat embargoed; hold order on more
The Department of Health conducted a routine inspection of Whitt’s BBQ on Wilma Rudulph Blvd on Wednesday and gave the restaurant a score of 68. 30 pounds of cooked beef was embargoed, some of it was cooked 21 days ago, and was still in the walk-in-cooler for use. The maximum allowed is seven days. A dozen other violations were noted, including no running water in the smokehouse, a sink clogged up with black standing water, meat products too warm in the walk-in-cooler, and too cool in the food warmers, by over forty degrees.
51: Inspectors found more roaches than handsoap at SOHO Chinese Japanese Fusion restaurant in Clarksville
Health Inspectors gave the SOHO Chinese & Japanese Fusion restaurant a 51 during a Thursday morning inspection in North Clarksville. The routine inspection revealed roaches crawling on the walls, floors, and pipes, no handwashing (and no soap at the sink), raw animal products improperly stored (some at improper temperatures and loose in grocery bags), dishes not being washed or sanitized, and the staff wasn’t checking dates or temperatures of food products. The location has a history of low scores, receiving a 58 in March of 2021, and a 66 in July of 2020.
China King scores 78 on health inspection, some 2nd & 3rd notice items, raw food storage issues
China King on Lowes Drive received a score of 78 on a routine restaurant inspection from the Tennessee Department of Health on March 24th. An inspector found raw shrimp stored on top of cooked potatoes, raw chicken stored over crab salad, raw fish stored over prep sauce, Sushi rice not marked with time expiration, food not being reheated to the proper temperature, including beef pastries, and wet & soiled wiping cloths stored on prep tables/workstations.
This was the 2nd notice for raw food being stored on prepped food and reheating temperatures, and the 3rd notice about the food expiration times and about improper cooler temperatures, with some 15 food items embargoed during this inspection.
A full copy of the inspection is included in the story…
