Restaurants & Bars

Restaurants Cited: Dunkin Donuts, La Bella Italia, Chuy's, Arby's

Recent Anne Arundel County restaurant and food service inspections found 47 critical violations and four facilities were temporarily closed.

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Forty-seven restaurants and food stores in Annapolis and elsewhere in Anne Arundel County were cited for what county health inspectors called "critical violations" in the October 2018 report that was just released. The county health department posted a list of 382 restaurant and food service inspections online and said 47 were found to have critical problems that were corrected.

Businesses, schools and care centers were inspected between October 1 and 31. Most of the problems noted in the reports were for employees who didn't wash their hands properly or food not stored at a proper temperature. Four restaurants were temporarily closed last month because of urgent problems.

Food Facility Closings:

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  • October 12, 2018 – Domino’s Pizza #4652, 110 Hillsmere Drive in Annapolis, was closed due to a sewage backup. The facility was reopened the same day.
  • October 15, 2018 – Dunkin Donuts, 5408 Southern Maryland Blvd. in Lothian, was closed due to operating without water. The facility was reopened on a tanker truck on October 16, and reconnected back on the private well on October 23.
  • October 15, 2018 – Subway, 5408 Southern Maryland Blvd. in Lothian, was closed due to operating without water. The facility was reopened on a tanker truck on October 16, and reconnnected back on the private well on October 23.
  • October 22, 2018 – La Bella Italia, 11 W. Friendship Road in Friendship, was closed due to a sewage overflow. The facility was reopened on October 22.

The restaurants and businesses with critical violations were:

  • Chick-fil-A, 1035 Annapolis Mall, Annapolis
  • Chuy's, 2339 Forest Dr., Annapolis
  • Heartlands at Severna Park, 715 Benfield Road, Severna Park
  • Deno's Pizza, 1686 Annapolis Road, Odenton
  • Touring Chef, 1139 Annapolis Road, Odenton
  • 7-Eleven #20871 A, 4730 Mountain Rd., Pasadena
  • Pomodoro Natural Pizzeria, 8749 Piney Orchard Pkwy., Odenton
  • 700 South Inc., 700 South Hammonds Ferry Road, Linthicum
  • Grilled Cheese & Co., 2624 Brandermill Blvd., Gambrills
  • Shoreline Seafood, Inc., 1034 MD Rt. 3 North, Gambrills
  • Royal Farms Store #40, 7843 Telegraph Road, Severn
  • Fursyth Petroleum Foundation (Airport Shell), 1001 Aviation Blvd., Baltimore
  • Fairfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1454 Fairfield Loop Rd., Crownsville
  • Burnie's Grill, 407 S. Camp Meade Rd., Linthicum
  • Arby's #8009, 8103 Ritchie Hwy., Pasadena
  • Annapolis Smokehouse, 107 Hillsmere Dr. #107, Annapolis (two visits)
  • Safeway Store #1351, 540 Benfield Road, Severna Park
  • Wheels Skating Center, 1200 Odenton Road, Odenton
  • Beijing Restaurant, 574 B Ritchie Highway, Severna Park
  • Einstein Bros. Bagels #2679, 595 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park
  • Jersey Mike's Subs, 1404 S. Main Chapel Way #102, Gambrills
  • Bay Area Catering/Expressway Pit Beef, Inc., 8388 Piney Orchard Parkway, Odenton
  • Ridgeway Elementary School, 1440 Evergreen Road, Severn
  • The Picantillo, 4590 Mountain Rd., Pasadena
  • Archbishop Spalding High School Concession Stand, 8080 New Cut Road, Severn
  • La Sierra, 2625 Riva Rd., Annapolis
  • La Bella Italia, 11 W. Friendship Rd., Friendship
  • Dunkin Donuts, 350 Mountain Road, Pasadena
  • Wendy's #6586, 100 East Central Ave., Edgewater
  • McDonald's Rest. #5136, 113 Mitchells Chance Road, Edgewater
  • McDonald's Restaurant #4899, 810 Reece Road, Severn
  • Weis Markets Inc. #277, 3261 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater
  • Ledo Pizza, 505 B S Cherry Grove Ave, Annapolis
  • Lydia Kim, Inc., 1 Nursery Road, Linthicum
  • Chesapeake Bay Middle, 4804 Mountain Road, Pasadena
  • Fortune Cookie Express, 1286 Rt 3 South, Crofton
  • Comfort Inn & Suites, 6921 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Baltimore
  • Best Western Plus BWI, 6055 Belle Grove Rd., Baltimore
  • Sarku Japan, 1027 Annapolis Mall, Space #192 (FC-18), Annapolis
  • Kokee Tea, 2002 Annapolis Mall #9019, Annapolis
  • Bay Hill Deli, 1272 Bay Dale Drive, Arnold
  • Grace Garden, 1690 A Annapolis Road, Odenton
  • Westin Baltimore Washington Airport BWI, 1101 Old Elkridge Landing Rd., Linthicum
  • The Breakfast Shoppe, 550 Ritchie Hwy., Severna Park
  • Luckies Market Severn, 8290 Portsmith Drive, Severn
  • Mr. Pizza & Subs, 3006 Mountain Rd., Pasadena

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.

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

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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.

Image via Shutterstock

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