ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - El Caribe, owned by Manuel Reyes, was featured on this week’s edition of Restaurant Roundup. El Caribe Restaurant received a perfect score of 100 on its food service inspection on Monday, Feb. 16.

You can find many options of Dominican cuisine at El Caribe, like oxtails, chicken and rice, empanadas, and they even specialize in fruit smoothies.

El Caribe opened around five years ago and is unique because the owner, Manuel Reyes, also owns another restaurant named “Manny’s Dominican Food,” which opened recently in Albany.

“El Caribe is my first restaurant, and I just opened up one more, which is Manny’s. [It] opened up about three weeks ago. We’ve (El Caribe) been there for about five years... We have always scored more than a 90. So this doesn’t surprise me to have a 100 again.”

>> Click here to view last week’s Restaurant Roundup. <<

When it comes to food safety, Reyes related cleanliness at a restaurant to how one should maintain their space at home.

“We treat it like if we are home. We make sure that everything is clean, that all the refrigerators and freezers are properly working and stock up... We take cleanliness very seriously.”

Reyes said he values a restaurant work environment where team members can execute their job and maintain health standards even when a manager or owner of the establishment is not there.

“I just sent nine of my employees... to be certified for food safety, so that way even if I am not there, they will still be able to know what to do.”

Aside from maintaining health standards, Reyes explained how, overall, he has a great team, which he said makes it easier when reaching goals and having a successful business to begin with.

“We have crew members that are always trying to do the right thing, that are happy to work for El Caribe or for Manny’s. And finding people like that makes it easier and it really [sets] us apart from other businesses.”

What sets El Caribe apart from most food service establishments is that most items on their menu can be ordered from the buffet-style setup they have, in which employees serve food from.

Customer safety is the overall vibe Reyes wants customers to feel when they walk into El Caribe.

“If you go to El Caribe, you are able to see the food right in front of you being served, and the fruits as well. You can even look in the kitchen and see how clean everything is.”

Reyes explained that he hopes El Caribe will continue to grow.

“I am planning bigger things for Albany and for myself. I set goals, and I want to succeed on those goals, and I want to be able to do them.”

Below is a list of restaurants that have been inspected in the last week (Feb. 16 through Feb. 23) in South Georgia:

Restaurants from this week’s food service inspection included:

1. El Caribe Restaurant
2. Hip Hop Seafood and Chicken
   1. Infractions
      1. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.04(7)(d)]Observed no allergy disclosure visible in the facility.
      2. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.04(4)(i)]Observed fish submerged in a container of water in the walk in cooler.
      3. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.05(1)(i)]Observed cardboard used as a surface to line shelves in dry storage room.
      4. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.05(7)(d)]Observed fume hood with an accumulation of grease and debris.
      5. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.07(5)(n)]Observed motorized scooter stored in dry storage room.
3. Locos Grill and Pub
   1. Infractions
      1. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.04(6)(f)]Observed chicken breast in grill prep cooler not maintained at 41 Degrees Fahrenheit.
      2. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.04(6)(g)]Observed mashed potatoes, rice, and macaroni and cheese in WIC not properly date-marked with date of preparation or date of disposal.
      3. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.04(6)(c)]Observed raw beef not thawing properly under running water.
4. King Claw
5. El Maya iii
6. Panchos Grill LLC
   1. Infractions
      1. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.04(6)(f)]Observed TCS food (rice) in the RIC not being held at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
      2. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.04(7)(d)]Observed the facility had no written consumer notification of the presence of major food allergens in unpackaged food items.
      3. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.03(5)(j)]Observed several employees without any type of hair restraints.
7. The Local Graze
8. El Jarocho Mexican Grill
   1. Infraction
      1. Violation of Code:[511-6-1.05(7)(a)2,3]Observed grease/food debris accumulated under and on cooking equipment at the grill and fryer area.

Below, you can find the food service inspection document for each restaurant covered in this week’s report:

El Caribe restaurant

Hip Hop Seafood and Chicken

Locos Grill and Pub

King Claw

El Maya iii

Panchos Grill LLC

The Local Graze

El Jarocho Mexican Grill

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