Popular University City restaurant barely passes health inspection

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — County health inspectors said dirty conditions and food at unsafe temperatures at the Cheddar's in University City earned the restaurant a score of 71.5, just barely high enough to avoid being shut down.

The "C" grade is posted right where customers can see it as they walk into Cheddar’s. Several told Channel 9 it changed their minds about eating there Friday.

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“I would never eat there. That's horrible. Like my coffee restaurant, we're at a 95, Nahje Talbot said.

The health inspection report lists what inspectors consider serious violations in red. Those ranged from problems with employee hand-washing, a slicer and mixer that were visibly soiled, chicken tenders that weren't kept warm enough and cheese that wasn't kept cool enough.

The report says many were repeat violations. Two weeks ago, inspectors gave Cheddar’s a score of 80, barely a “B” and it went down from there.

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Lynn Lathon supervises the county's health inspectors and said a score of 71.5 is rare. Two points lower and Lathon said they would’ve closed the restaurant down.

She said they work with restaurants to clean up their act and it's up to customers to pay attention.

“We want those scores posted for patrons, not for the owner,” Lathon said. “And then those inspections can be viewed online.”

Cheddar’s sent Channel 9 a statement that said it’s working with the health department and "taking immediate steps to retrain their entire team on strict food safety policies.”

You can check health inspection scores at local businesses by clicking here.

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