Chick-Fil-A Takes a Five-Day Break Following DOH Inspection

The Midtown outpost of love-it-or-hate-it chain Chick-Fil-A was closed over the weekend so that the management could make some necessary upgrades to the operations. On December 24, a DOH inspector found 59 violation points — enough for a "C" grade — including four "critical" violations for things like cold food held above 41 degrees and evidence of filth flies. Here's the rap sheet from the DOH homepage:

Chik-Fil-A's operators did not have to close the restaurant after this inspection, but a "Grade Pending" sign now hangs in the window. Here's the sign explaining the closure:

Photo by Robert Sietsema

Chick-fil-A received 39 violation points during an inspection on December 15. Letter grades are determined by two inspections. According to the DOH homepage (PDF), if a restaurant receives a low grade, it can opt to post a "Grade Pending" sign "until it has an opportunity to be heard at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearing Health Tribunal." So, presumably, Team Chick-Fil-A is going to try to appeal to the DOH after these upgrades.  Nobody's picking up the phone at the restaurant right now.

Update, Monday afternoon: Chick-Fil-A is still closed. The chain posted a statement about the temporary shutter on its homepage that notes: "We do have a little more work to complete so we have made the decision to remain closed until we feel confident we are exceeding standards in all areas. "