A Public School And A Waffle House Location In Georgia Were Penalized For Having A Roach-Infested Kitchen

April 11, 2019 | Posted In: General

A Public School And A Waffle House Location In Georgia Were Penalized For Having A Roach-Infested Kitchen

There seems to be a string of cockroach infested kitchens popping up in Georgia, and all of them in places that had received almost perfect scores after their previous health inspections. Not only that, they dropped in their scores by 40 points or more, going from an A rating to a low C. That is a huge drop considering these inspections were not even six months apart. What’s with the cockroach boom in all of these kitchens?

The first convicted cockroach-infested kitchen was located in a metro Atlanta Waffle House, you know…the knockoff version of IHOP (International House of Pancakes). After their previous health inspection in October, the Waffle House received a near perfect score, but come spring that score dropped more than 40 points to a score of 58. If they were in school, that would amount to a D+. I for one would not want to eat at a restaurant that is essentially failing health and safety school. There were numerous issues noted by the inspector, including the presence of live cockroaches scuttling around the facility, with the added problem of the manager being unable to provide any pest control logs. They also found food being kept in the cooler at temperatures too low to adequately keep them from spoiling, a black substance sticking to the inside of the ice machine, as well as one of the cooks handling raw bacon and then bread with nary a handwashing in between.

The other big cockroach infestation was unfortunately found in a school kitchen, specifically Bethune Middle School in DeKalb County.  Their previous health inspection score was also a high 99 points, with their new score dropping down to 60. The last place you want to hear of there being a cockroach infestation is in your child’s school kitchen, and this school had quite the cockroach population. The health inspector found live roaches scurrying around the kitchen and the restroom of the kitchen staff, as well as dead cockroaches behind the serve line where students are actually given the food prepared in said cockroach-infested kitchen. They also found food in the serving line was not being kept hot enough to ensure it is safe to consume and prevent the possibility of a food borne illness. It is quite rare for schools to score low on health inspections, and this very school had, in fact, scored in the 90’s in their health inspections the previous year.

Have you ever seen cockroaches at a restaurant you ate at, or, God forbid, your child’s school?