Rodents, mold-like growth among violations found by Tarrant County restaurant inspectors
Two Tarrant County restaurants will have to undergo followup health inspections after enough violations were found in the 69 inspections conducted from March 27 to April 1, according to data from the county compiled by the Star-Telegram.
No restaurants were closed, but the county awarded more than 29 demerits to Italiannis, 1601 Precinct Line Road in Hurst, and Aloha Chicken and Shrimp, 6428 Denton Highway in Watauga, to send inspectors back soon.
The county inspects all restaurants in its jurisdiction except those in the cities of Fort Worth, North Richland Hills, Euless and Arlington, all of which conduct their own inspections. A score of zero is perfect in county inspections and restaurants that score higher than 29 are required to fix the worst problems immediately and undergo a followup inspection soon after the original.
2021-2022 Restaurant Inspections
Searchable database of Tarrant County restaurant inspections starting January 1, 2021
Itallianis, with a score of 33, has pest control coming to the restaurant three times a week to work at gaining control over a rodent population, according to the inspectors’ report.
The report notes that fixing a back door that is broken and won’t close, a deep cleaning of the entire kitchen where there are crumbs and water sitting in floor tile where grout is missing, and clearing of “huge debris buildup under the chemical storage building” would help end the problem the restaurant has with rodents. The broken door is a recurring problem from a previous inspection, according to the report.
Other problems noted by inspectors during their visit to Itallianis included improperly stored food, an ice machine drain submerged in unclean sewer water, a “mold-like substance” on several cutting boards and an employee who did not properly wash his hands after having them in floor drains and the mop sink trying to unstop them.
At Aloha Chicken and Shrimp, inspectors gave the restaurant a score of 31 and noted unclean food contact surfaces, improper food storage temperature monitoring, improper hand washing, improperly stored food and that the “person in charge has no knowledge of basic food safety.”
Inspectors also noted in their report that the restaurant has a repeated violation of state law that requires it to have a certified food manager on duty and the person in charge must be a certified food manager.
Inspectors awarded perfect scores to seven restaurants, in addition to some schools, hotels and other non-restaurants that have offer some form of food service. Those restaurants can be found in the interactive table below.