Four South MS kitchens fail health inspections, including a popular fast-food restaurant

Four restaurants in South Mississippi failed to pass their health inspection in the last nine days of April, with once cited for food not in good condition and another for insects, rodents or animals present.

The restaurants cited by the state health department are:

Sonic Drive-In , 3001 Highway 11 north, Picayune, was inspected April 22 for a permit renewal. It was cited for:

▪ Food not in good condition, safe and unadulterated

▪ Food contact surface not cleaned and sanitized

Corrected during the inspection were:

▪ Adequate hand washing facilities supplied and accessible

▪ Food separated and protected

This was the second C dating back to 2010. The previous one was in 2013.

El Saltillo Bar , 2650 Beach Blvd., Biloxi was inspected April 30 for a permit. It was cited for:

▪ Insects, rodents or animals present, a repeat offense.

This was the second C since 2018, with the prior C in 2022.

El Lupillo , 1909 E. Pass Road, Gulfport, was inspected April 30 for a corrective follow-up and again scored a C.

The restaurant failed on April 15 for not having a certified manager, for food contact surface not cleaned and sanitized and for not posting the last inspection report.

On April 30, the restaurant still didn’t have a certified manager, but the other two violations were cleared.

The only prior C was in 2017.

Chanitos Taqueria , 2600 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, had a scheduled inspection April 30 and was cited for:

▪ No certified manager.

Corrected during the inspection were:

▪ Proper eating, tasting, drinking or tobacco use

▪ Adequate hand washing facilities supplied and accessible

The restaurant was inspected once before on March 26 and had no violations.

Restaurants and other food service establishments in Mississippi are rated “A” if they pass the health department inspection, “B” if all violations are corrected during the inspection and “C” if the violations are critical.

During April, 16 restaurants and kitchens in South Mississippi failed their health inspections. The vast majority — 268 kitchens — had no violations and scored an A. Another 48 were given a B grade when violations were corrected.