Happy Sumo II, a long-standing Japanese restaurant at 1155-A Mount Vernon Highway, had its string of excellent inspection scores broken with a failing grade.

Fulton County gave it 56 out of 100 during a recent routine inspection. It was the lowest score the teppanyaki grill and sushi bar has had in its nine-year history, said manager Dae Choung.

Points were taken off because containers of food, which had been taken out of the freezer and cooler, were placed directly on the floor to thaw or be prepped for cooking.

An ice bath of broccoli was on the floor near the ice machine drain. A container of frozen chicken was on top of frozen shrimp, and both were thawing on the floor near the walk-in freezer. Sesame seeds were stored on the floor at the sushi bar. Food also was stacked on the floor in and around the walk-in cooler.

Lemons were inside the ice bin, and the ice was also being used for customer drinks. Raw seafood and vegetables were on the prep table ready to be cooked, but were not being kept cold.

Choung said his staff had the food out ready to be cooked for lunch. There was no time to continuously take it out of the cooler and put it back, he said. “They had to quickly set it out because customers were coming steadily,” Choung said.

Points also were taken off because the facilities were not clean. Heavy debris was observed on knives, inside the microwave, on the handle, gaskets, shelves and vents of the walk-in freezer and on the floors, shelves, walls and ceilings throughout the kitchen, according to the report.

Happy Sumo, which had previous inspection scores of 90 and 99, will be re-inspected following staff training by Fulton County.

Here’s a look at other recent inspection scores from area restaurants.

Cobb County

• Crepe Revolution, 4600 W. Village Place, Smyrna: 99/A.
• Hashiguchi Sushi Bar, 3000 Windy Hill Road S.E., Marietta: 95/A.
• Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant, 4200 Wade Green Road, Kennesaw: 95/A.

DeKalb County

• Buffalo China, 414 N. Hairston Road, Stone Mountain: 91/A.
• Jo’s Grille, 2120 Johnson Ferry Road N.E., Atlanta: 81/B.
• Wings & Seafood, 1046 Holcombe Road, Decatur: 91/A.

Douglas County

• Golden Dragon, 900 Thornton Road, Lithia Springs: 83/B.
• Irish Bred Pub and Restaurant, 6682 Broad St., Douglasville: 88/B.
• Kegun Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi, 6599 Church St., Douglasville: 92/A.

Fayette County

• Cameron’s Kitchen, 805 W. Lanier Ave., Fayetteville: 96/A.
• KiKu Japanese Restaurant, 190 Pavilion Parkway, Fayetteville: 95/A.
• La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant, 365 N. Fayette Place, Fayetteville: 96/A.

Fulton County

• Café Sunflower, 5975 Roswell Road, Atlanta: 90/A.
• IHOP, 870 N. Main St., Alpharetta: 90/A.
• Zuma, 701 Highland Ave., Atlanta: 94/A.

Gwinnett County

• Footprints Café, 706 Grayson Highway, Lawrenceville: 88/B.
• Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet, 5265 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross: 75/C.
• Taqueria Los Hermanos, 4955 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville: 87/B.

— by Laura Berrios for the Food & More blog

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