The First Watch restaurant located at 1701 Matthews Township Pkwy Matthews, NC scored an 85.50 B during a food safety inspection on January 14, 2022.
There was a loaf of bread and a fruit cup with mold present on them. The dish machine did not have sanitizer in it, meaning dishes were being washed without any disinfectant.
There was a lack of control throughout the kitchen as evidenced by cold holding, hand washing, glove usage, and sanitizing violations.
An employee was seen picking up a wiping cloth off of the floor and continuing to food prep without first washing hands. A dish employee was handling dirty dishes and then moved to handle clean dishes without changing gloves or washing hands.
Several First Watch employees were completing different tasks such as gathering items from the walk-in cooler, handling raw and ready to eat items, handling personal beverages, cell phones, and then continuing to food prep without first washing hands and changing gloves.
All the food items inside of the walk-in cooler were being held at unsafe temperatures between 44-50F. Most of the food had to be thrown away.
Boxes of food were stored on the floor in the walk-in cooler and the walk-in freezer.
The inspector observed First Watch employees handling food without hair restraints on. Other employees were prepping food items while wearing jewellery such as watches and bracelets, jewellery while food prepping is not allowed.
Cutting boards had black build-up on them. The surface cuts on the cutting boards were too deep and are unable to be effectively cleaned and sanitized.
Significant floor damage and missing tiles were seen in the dish area. Employee drinks were stored on the prep surface at the prep line.
