Moldy food, unwashed hands and more: the worst Myrtle Beach area restaurant violations
In the latest restaurant inspections by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, inspectors found food stored at unsafe temperatures, moldy ingredients and more.
In general, SCDA gives restaurants scoring between 88 and 100 points A grades, restaurants scoring 78-87 points B grades and restaurants scoring 77 points or fewer C grades.
However, the department sometimes lowers grades for restaurants that have consecutive violations, are under enforcement action or are under pending enforcement actions, including imminent health hazards, permit suspensions or permit revocations.
Of the 275 restaurant inspections conducted in Horry and Georgetown County between Jan. 31 and Feb. 14, SCDA gave five restaurants B grades and three restaurants C grades. Of those eight establishments, only three actually scored below 88 points. Here’s what inspectors found.
117-D Rivertown Blvd., Conway, SC 29526
Score: 76
At a routine inspection of Little Caesars in Conway on Feb. 3, none of the workers present had a minimum food handler certification, an employee didn’t adequately sanitize dishes and an employee didn’t wash their hands between cleaning dishes and prepping food.
Other violations included chemical bottles and cell phones stored on food prep surfaces, pizza sauce without times marked for safe consumption, ready-to-eat chicken wings held at insufficiently warm temperatures and an “excessive” accumulation of dirt on the floors.
The restaurant managed to correct most violations and scored 99 points at a Feb. 13 follow-up inspection.
800 S. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Score: 78
In response to a complaint, the SCDA conducted a routine inspection of the Denny’s in downtown Myrtle Beach on Feb. 13. The inspector observed a moldy cucumber in a cooler, ready-to-eat foods like macaroni and cheese and cut cantaloupe stored without dates marked for safe consumption and foods like eggs and pancake mix stored at insufficiently cold temperatures.
The inspection report also noted refrigerator gaskets damaged throughout the facility, food stored within splashing-distance of the sink, a plastic cutting board in need of refinishing because of excessive scoring, as well as grime and build-up on cooking equipment, drying racks and freezers.
A follow-up inspection is scheduled for Feb. 23.
4245 Socastee Blvd., Myrtle Beach, SC 29588
Score: 84
A follow-up inspection of the Socastee location of La Olanchana found several violations, including bulk cheese broken into smaller portions and stored in Ziploc bags for resale without labels or dates marked for safe consumption, no hot water at sinks, inadequate sanitizer in the dish washer and accumulations of grease and debris between the fryer and the stove.
The inspector also noted that there wasn’t a certified food handler present for the inspection. At a subsequent follow-up inspection on Feb. 14, La Olanchana scored 96 points.
This story was originally published February 22, 2025 at 6:00 AM.