Anne Arundel Restaurant Inspections: Medieval Times, Popeyes, Red Lobster, Ledo Pizza, More

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Fifty-four restaurants and food stores in Annapolis and elsewhere in Anne Arundel County were cited for what county health inspectors called “critical violations” in the June 2017 report released last week.

The county health department has posted a list of 401 restaurant and food service inspections online and says 54 were found to have critical problems that were corrected. Businesses, schools and care centers were inspected between June 1 and 30; findings were released July 28.

Most of the problems noted in the report were for employees who didn’t wash their hands properly or food not stored at a proper temperature. No businesses were closed because of violations.

The restaurants and businesses with critical violations were:

• American Legion, 830 Mayo Road, Edgewater
• Bella Sera, 9 Lee Air Park Drive, Edgewater
• Big Fish Grill, 1260 S. Crain Highway, Crofton
• Bonchon Chicken, 7049 Arundel Mills Blvd., Hanover
• Burger King, 3111 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater (two visits)
• Chick-fil-A, 3220 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater
• Dunkin' Donuts of Crofton, 1200 Rt. 3 South, Crofton
• Edgewater Dash In Shell, 3075 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater
• Einstein Bros. Bagels, 595 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park
• El Pan Cafe, 1908 Forest Drive #1D, Annapolis
• Elks Lodge, 2 Pythian Drive, Edgewater (two visits)
• Giant Food Store, 948 Bay Ridge Road, Annapolis
• Happy Harbor Restaurant, 533 Deale Rd., Deale
• High's Dairy Store, 116 W Central Avenue, Edgewater
• Jerry's Subs and Pizza, 914 Bay Ridge Rd, Annapolis
• Ledo Pizza, 505 B S Cherry Grove Ave, Annapolis (two visits)
• Lighthouse Shelter, 10 Hudson St., Annapolis
• Lupita's Restaurant, 1313 Forest Drive, Annapolis
• Mario's Restaurant, 1912 Forest Drive, Annapolis
• McDonald's Restaurant, 113 Mitchells Chance Road, Edgewater
• Medieval Times, 7000 Arundel Mills Circle, Hanover
• New Matsu Sushi, 509 S. Cherry Grove Ave. #D, Annapolis
• Park Tavern, 580 P Ritchie Highway, Severna Park
• Pennsylvania Dutch Farm Market, 2472 Solomons Island Road, Annapolis
• Perry's Restaurant, 1208 Annapolis Road, Odenton
• Pizza Boli's, 1900 Fairfax Road, Annapolis
• Popeyes of Edgewater, 98 E Central Avenue, Edgewater
• Red Lobster Restaurant, 183 Jennifer Road, Annapolis
• Royal Farms, 517 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park
• Safeway, 1451 S. Ritchie Hwy., Arnold (two visits)
• Safeway Store, 1781 Forest Drive, Annapolis
• Safeway Store, 52 West Central Avenue, Edgewater
• Shop N Go Foods, Inc., 118 Hillsmere Drive, Annapolis
• South County Cafe Whitman's Catering, 5960 Deale Churchton Road, Deale
• Sweethearts Patisserie, 1410 Forest Drive, Annapolis
• UR Burger, 120 Mitchells Chance Rd., Edgewater
• Wawa, 3166 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater
• Wawa Food Market, 701 Annapolis Road, Gambrills
• Wendy's, 1949 West Street, Annapolis
• Wendy's, 100 East Central Ave., Edgewater

Inspectors evaluate nine critical food safety items, which are those most likely to contribute to foodborne illness, the department says. If a critical food safety violation is discovered, it must be either corrected immediately or the facility risks being closed.

Find the full inspection list here and explanations for the citations on the health department website.

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health inspects restaurants and other food service facilities routinely to monitor the sanitary and physical conditions at each establishment.

Indicates type of inspection:
ICI - Initial Comprehensive Inspection: Complete environmental inspection which includes both critical and sanitation items and food flow process (HACCP)
IM(1 or 2) - Monitoring Inspection: Specialized inspections performed to monitor critical steps of food handling for potentially hazardous foods.
R(or R2) - Reinspection
Column 5: Critical food safety items found NOT in compliance. Any critical items found to be in violation must be corrected during the inspection. Numbers appearing in this column indicate the food safety item found in violation.

These numbers correspond to the following critical items:

1. Food must be obtained from an approved source.
2. Food must be protected from adulteration, spoilage and contamination.
3. Food workers must be restricted during illness or infection.
4. Food workers must practice effective handwashing.
5. Food must be properly cooled.
6. a. Food must be held at proper cold holding temperature. All existing refrigeration equipment must maintain the internal temperature of potentially hazardous food at 41 degrees F or less. b. Food must be held at proper hot holding temperature.
7. a. Food must be cooked to proper temperature. b. Food must be reheated to proper temperature.
8. Potable hot and cold running water must be provided.
9. Sewage must be properly discharged.

Ways to spot a possibly unclean restaurant kitchen are:

• Outdoor space: If the exterior is unkempt and littered, don't trust the inside.
• How clean is the restroom? Smells and overflowing trash cans are a red flag.
• Well-groomed employees: Are they washed, do they wear gloves when handling food, and do they wash their hands? If not, be careful.
• Healthy servers: If your waiter is sneezing or coughing, ask for another or consider leaving
• Table cleaning: Is a clean rag and disinfectant used to clean the table's surface? If not, the staff could just be spreading germs around.

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