Major chain restaurant suddenly shut down after 11 straight “C” health grades in South Carolina

If you guessed International House of Pancakes, you’re correct.

Over the summer, a long-running IHOP on James Island closed its doors for good — and the reason behind the sudden shutdown has left Charleston, South Carolina residents stunned.

Located at 771 Daniel Ellis Drive, the restaurant threw in the towel after racking up an alarming 11 consecutive “C” grades from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The most recent inspection before it closed cited a combination of food-safety issues, including improper food temperatures, cross-contamination risks, and evidence of pests in the kitchen area.

Examples of specific things cited include: “Consecutive violtion: Walk in cooler: cut tomato, roasted tomato, mashed potato and cut ham held past 7 days. Shredded lettuce (open bag) without datemark.” and “Liquid eggs resting on ice and unable to hold 41F and below, without a time stamp. Liquid eggs 58F.”

For context, “C” is the lowest a restaurant can score. On a 100-point scale, an “A” is 87 points or more, a “B” is between 78 and 87 points, and a “C” is 77 or lower.

The James Island location had served the breakfast favorites IHOP is beloved for, like pancakes and omelets, for more than a decade, but its reputation had been declining as negative reviews mounted. After it closed, one Facebook poster exclaimed, “I’m honestly surprised IHOP James Island stayed in business that long!”

It was bad enough that there’s even a Reddit thread started on the subject. There was a lot of love for Waffle House and comments like “This location is nasty.”

Believe it or not, the shut down was voluntary by IHOP vs. forced by health inspectors.

On the plus side, other IHOP locations like the two in North Charleston get better grades. Both of those locations (7361 Mazyck Rd and 4936 Center Point Dr) appear to have gotten “A”s in their most recent inspections. Even national chains with many well-scored locations can falter at a particular store. The Daniel Ellis Drive IHOP appears to have been one of those places.