The owner of a Gwinnett County pizza restaurant says he is embarrassed by its failing health inspection.
In February, the Gwinnett Health Department suspended Empire State Pizza and Dogs after some repeat violations. The restaurant reopened, but has now failed another inspection, earning a 56 out of 100 on May 14.
The restaurant, on Five Forks Trickum Road, received a 61 in February.
The latest violations included multiple utensils stored as clean that had food debris, the dish-washing machine not dispensing sanitizer and a large container of chicken wings not cooled to 70 degrees within two hours.
The inspection report also says there was an employee handling garlic knots and blue cheese with bare hands.
Channel 2’s Carol Sbarge visited Empire State Pizza and Dogs to see what management is doing to resolve the violations.
The owner, Todd Pinkerton, did not want to speak on camera, but did send a statement:
“Our recent failing heath scores are not only concerning, but very embarrassing. While the violations were caused by an employee and kitchen manager no longer employed by us, I accept full responsibility and will assure that all of our food handling policies are reinforced moving forward.”
The health inspector noted that the restaurant permit was suspended voluntarily after the restaurant failed twice in a row on routine inspections. It reopened after onsite training with the employees and the owner.
WSBTV
