Premises Information


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Name

CULINARY DROPOUT

Address

1120 S TRYON ST

STE 100

City/State/ZIP

CHARLOTTE

28203

Premise Type

1 - Restaurant

County

Mecklenburg

Inspection Date

5/11/2026

Final Score @ Grade

General Comments

- Facility has an approved HACCP plan for cook chill/ROP of sauces, gravy, and some TCS foods such as mashed potatoes as of Sept. 2025. Following conversations with the PIC it was discovered that the facility does not currently use the process that was approved in the HACCP plan. PIC stated that they do currently utilize the sealing machine and do seal the products above into sealed bags but the items are not placed into the bags hot. Process is to cook the items above and allow them to fully cool down in the WIC or blast chiller, not being placed into any bags while hot. Only when fully cooled down are items placed in bags with all items except the BBQ pork being placed into sealed bags on an as needed basis. PIC stated that with fondue for example they will keep the fondue in large insert containers in the WIC and then when they need to refill the containers at the hot holding wells at the cookline they will portion some into a bag, use the sealing machine to seal the bag, and reheat the item in a hot water bath. Cooked BBQ pork is the only item that is stored in a sealed bag but PIC stated that it is not placed into the sealed bags until the day after it is cooked and cooled down. Bags are not true ROP as there is air observed inside the sealed bags. PIC stated that she is aware that other locations do follow the HACCP process they have but this location does not and they do not have the proper cooling bath equipment on site to even do the cook/chill process. **New PIC stated that they are going to start to utilize the HACCP plan and has recently started acquiring the equipment that the facility previously lacked to properly do the cook/chill process. Above information is still accurate for current process in the facility as of 5/11/26 but PIC stated they intend to start training staff and utilizing the HACCP procedure between now and the next inspection.**

Violations

CDI=Corrected During Inspection

R=Repeat Violation

VR=Verification Required

Violation Item	Demerits	Violation Description	CDI	R	VR	Comments
3	0	Management, food & conditional employee; knowledge, responsibilities & reporting	Yes	No	No	2-103.11(O) Ensure food employees are informed of their responsibility to report required symptoms, illnesses and exposure.-PF - Observed no signed employee healthy policies on site at the time of the inspection. PIC stated that the do go through an online open boarding process that involves training on foodborne illnesses and symptoms but they could not access the signed versions at the time of the inspection. CDI - EHS provided paper copy of Mecklenburg County employee health policies and onsite employees signed. For more information on employee health policy, please visit: www.mecknc.gov/foodsafety
21	1.50	Proper hot holding temperatures	Yes	No	No	3-501.16(A)(1) Maintain TCS foods in hot holding at 135F or above. -P - Observed an insert container of chicken stock to be hot holding at the cookline at a temperature of 91F. CDI - PIC placed container onto the stove to rapidly reheat to 165F. For more information, please visit: www.mecknc.gov/foodsafety or view our training videos at the following weblinks: What are TCS Foods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0iLZb7v0UM and Safe Food Temperatures https://youtu.be/tXP09IK-1TQ .
22	1.50	Proper cold holding temperatures	Yes	No	No	3-501.16(A)(2) Maintain TCS foods in cold holding at 41F or less. -P - Observed insert containers of salmon dip, pimento cheese, egg yolk, and onion dip to be at temperatures of 45-51F in the opentop refrigerator adjacent the fryer station. Items in the opentop portion struggle to maintain temperature as the lids provided with the refrigerator are not insulated and do not create a seal trapping cold air in the unit. Unit is functional and ambient holds at 41F for the drawers. PIC stated that they may get rid of the unit all together as it has caused issues in the past and continues to cause issues. All items stated above were placed in the unit prior to opening. - Observed an insert container of portioned bags of prime rib to be at temperatures of 43-47F in the refrigerated drawers beneath the grill. Items a=were boring up to the grill prior to opening. CDI - PIC relocated all items to the blast chiller to rapidly cool. - Observed an insert container of garlic butter (containing unsalted butter) to be stored directly on the cookline prep table at a temperature of 65F. PIC stated that they keep it out of refrigeration to make it easier to spread and it was brought up to the line upon opening at 11am. CDI - PIC placed temporary TPHC time stamp to be discarded at 3pm and is going to decide to hold the item permanently on TPHC or switch to salted butter in the recipe. For more information, please visit: www.mecknc.gov/foodsafety or view our training videos at the following weblinks: What are TCS Foods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0iLZb7v0UM and Safe Food Temperatures https://youtu.be/tXP09IK-1TQ .
33	0.50	Proper cooling methods used; adequate equipment for temperature control	Yes	Yes	No	3-501.15 Quickly cool foods. Use methods such as open/vented shallow pans, large ice baths and active stirring. Cold air must flow around product to remove the heat. -Pf - Observed insert containers of sour cream, pico de gallo, and shredded lettuce to be at temperatures of 43-48F in the cookline opentops at the time of the inspection. PIC stated all items were prepared/cut prior to opening and then brought up to the cookline opentops, which are units not designed nor approved for rapid cooling. REPEAT. - Observed insert containers of buttermilk ranch, pico de gallo, and salmon dip to be at temperatures of 45-59F in the WIC. PIC stated that all items were out prior to EHS arrival to be used for morning prep and restocking containers to be used at the cookline, and then were placed back into the WIC with the tight fitting plastic lids on which obstructs the cold air flow and does not allow for the product to adequately cool down. CDI - All items moved to the blast chiller to rapidly cool down. For more information, please visit: https://health.mecknc.gov/envhealth/food-and-facilities-sanitation or view our training videos at the following weblinks: What are TCS Foods https://youtu.be/bRvqAETDjQU and Cooling Food Safely https://youtu.be/P6x8b1ZVOxU .
43	0	In-use utensils: properly stored	Yes	No	No	3-304.12 (A) In-use utensils in TCS food, must be stored with handles above the food and top of the food container. - Observed a container of water to store in use utensils at the cookline to be at a temperature of 103F. CDI - PIC placed container of water on the stove to rapidly reheat to 135F.
44	0.50	Utensils, equipment & linens: properly stored, dried & handled	No	Yes	No	4-903.11(B)(1) Clean equipment and utensils shall be stored in a self-draining position that allows for air drying. - Observed multiple stacks of cleaned plastic containers to be wet nested on the clean dish storage rack in the dish pit. REPEAT.