Surprising results for food establishments in Charlestown and nearby

Cleanliness and food safety matters

By Will Collette

When you are looking for a place to eat or to shop for food, details matter. How the place looks or smells may determine whether you get much further than the entrance door. 

The Rhode Island Health Department’s food inspectors look at that, but more importantly, they check out the things you don’t usually see. How food is prepared and stored, the physical conditions that can lead to contamination, vermin, or even poisoning.

And they put it on a database that allows you to look up how well a restaurant or food store did when the DOH food inspectors made one of their unannounced inspections. 

I looked up many of Charlestown’s listed food establishments – restaurants and retail – as well as a few of my favorite close-by spots. 

Below, you'll see summaries of the health inspection results for 15 Charlestown restaurants, 8 Charlestown food retailers and another dozen of my favorite nearby restaurants. Thirty-five in all.

It’s not a complete list – you can do your own look-up by clicking here.

Based on the inspection reports, if a good inspection report means a lot to you, the Wilcox Tavern and the Willows are tops in Charlestown with no violations on their most recent inspections. The Breachway Grill, Gentleman Farmer and Small Axe Café did very well, as did Dunkin Donuts. 

The nearby Matunuck Oyster Farm and Vetrano’s in Westerly also scored very well. At the other end of the spectrum, you may want to re-think ordering pizza for dinner (at most local establishments but not Vetrano's or the Breachway, both with very clean inspection reports).

According to the Health Department reports, the cleanest food retailer in Charlestown is, far and away, Cumberland Farms.

When I look at these inspection reports, I try to visualize what the inspector is describing. Some of their cryptic notes on a violation make a few seem pretty serious. Some seem more technical in nature. Others indicate chronic problems. I not only look at the most recent inspection but earlier ones as well. I look to see if an establishment has improved over time – most have – while others seem to have on-going, serious public health and safety issues.

I also compare establishments to each other. If all other things were equal, I would prefer to go to a place that only had one or two minor problems versus one with a dozen bad ones. 

Finally, if a place is in an old building, has a lot of character and offers cheap eats, I am more inclined to cut some slack than I would for a place with slick decor, nouvelle cuisine and high-end prices where the inspection report says they have a critter problem. But all of that is a matter of personal taste and tolerances.

I compiled the reports for these local establishments into one 90-page document you can read or download by clicking here. Or use the Health Department database yourself.

Here are the summaries:

Charlestown Restaurants

Breachway Grill. Last inspection was October 2012. Two violations for equipment storage.

Charlestown Community Center. Though not technically a restaurant, they serve food and are subject to DOH inspection. Last inspection: February 2013. Five violations for dirt and maintenance problems.

The Cove. Last inspection: September 2012. Five violations over sanitary issues. They have had bad prior inspections, the worst in June 2011 where they drew 14 violations.

Dunkin Donuts. Last inspection in 2010 where they drew two violations for sanitation issues.

Famous Pizza. Last inspection: February 2013. Nine violations for dirt and poor conditions. Lots of violations on their earlier inspections.

Gentleman Farmer. Last inspection: March 2013. One violation for storing soup at too high a temp.

Hitching Post. Last inspection: June 2012. Four violations for utensils, equipment storage.

Hungry Haven. Last inspection: October 2012. Six violations. Disrepair, bad cutting surfaces.

K&S Pizza. Last inspection: October 2012. Eight violations. Sanitation and contamination prevention.

Kingston Pizza. Last inspection: December 2012. Two violations. Dirt and grime buildup. Improved from earlier inspections that drew many violations.

Meadow Brook Inn. No current inspections. The DOH database starts in 2008 so none since then.

Nordic Lodge. Last inspection: July 2010. Seven violations. Sanitation issues. I’m surprised there was no DOH follow-up inspection on record.

Small Axe Café. Last inspection: May 2013. Two violations. Food labeling and location of refrigeration units. Improved over past inspections that drew many violations.

Wilcox Tavern. Last inspection: September 2012. No violations which is a huge improvement over earlier inspections that yielding many violations.

The Willows. Last inspection: March 2012. No violations.

Charlestown Food Retail Establishments

Charlestown Mini-Super. Last Inspection: August 2011. Four violations. Contamination prevention.

Cumberland Farms. Last inspection: January 2013. No violations. In fact, no violations in their last seven inspections. They had a septic system problem last year, but apparently it never became a Health Department food safety matter.

Happy Acres. Last inspection: July 2012. No violations which is a huge improvement over the nine violations they drew in their earlier inspection.

Michael’s. Last inspection: February 2013. No violations.

Peaches. Last inspection: July 2012. Four violations. Disrepair.

Rippy’s. Last inspection: November 2012. Nine violations. Sanitation, food storage, maintenance. Lots of violations on earlier inspections.

Sweet Treats. Last inspection: November 2011. Six violations. Rodents, sanitation. Like the Nordic Lodge, I am surprised, given the nature of the violations, that the DOH hasn’t been back for a follow-up.

Village Bakery. Last inspection: March 2013. Two violations. Food storage.

Some selected nearby restaurants

Aunt Carries. Last inspection: May 2013. Four violations. Contamination prevention.

Capn Jacks. Last inspection: May 2013. Five violations. Sanitation and contamination prevention.

84 Grill (formerly 84 High Street). Last inspection: January 2013. Thirteen violations mostly for sanitation and contamination prevention issues.

George’s of Galilee. Last inspection: September 2011. Three violations. Contamination prevention.

Guytannos. Last inspection: March 2013. Nine violations. Contamination and spoilage prevention.

Haversham. Last inspection: August 2012. Seven violations. Maintenance problems.

Iggy’s Doughboys and Chowder. Last inspection: March 2012. No violations.

Mariner Grille. Last inspection: May 2013. Nine violations. Contamination prevention.

Matunuck Oyster Farm. Last inspection: May 2013. One violation for lobster salad at 45 degrees and not at 42 degrees or less.

The Sea Goose Grill and Raw Bar. Brand new in the former location of W.B. Cody's BBQ (and REALLY good!). First and only inspection on May 13, 2013. Two violations, one for a missing sign on an employee hand sink and another for a non-self-closing door on the employees' toilet. 

Shelter Harbor Inn. Last inspection: April 2012. Two violations for contamination prevention. This was a follow-up to their March 2012 inspection which went very badly: eighteen (18) violations for disrepair, dirt, etc.

Vetrano. Last inspection: April 2012. One violation for diced ham kept at 56 degrees.

While it was disappointing to see some of my favorite spots draw violations, I’m not sure how much these reports will change my dining habits. I strongly urge you to read the actual inspection entries in the database for yourself. You can judge for yourself whether you consider some violations to be nit-picky or others to be serious and enough to make you no longer go there.

I found it helpful to look at the entire track record of an establishment for context. I noted in some of my summaries that an establishment seemed to have turned around its problems, while others seem to be always problematic. It’s a judgment call.

Unless you want to get all your meals (and buy all your foods) at Cumberland Farms or Michael’s, or eat out only at Wilcox Tavern or the Willows, you’re going to have to make your own risk-benefit analysis. This information drawn from the Health Department’s reports is one of but many factors.