2 Staten Island Restaurants Earn Grade B in April 2 Inspections

New York, NY — Two Staten Island restaurants received Grade B scores from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on April 2, 2026, each finishing with a score of 19 points. Both locations were cited for critical temperature control violations, reflecting a shared pattern that inspectors flagged across the day's findings.

The Inspections

Dunkin, located at 2655 Richmond Avenue in Staten Island, scored 19 during its inspection. Inspectors documented two critical violations at the location. The first involved cold temperature-controlled for safety (TCS) food items held above the required 41°F threshold — a standard set by both NYC Health Code Article 81 and the FDA Food Code to limit bacterial growth. The second critical violation cited improper washing, rinsing, and sanitizing of food contact surfaces following use or potential contamination. A third non-critical cold holding violation was also recorded. The location's grade is listed as Pending, meaning a re-inspection will determine whether a letter grade is posted publicly.

Taste of China, at 90 Guyon Avenue in Staten Island, also received a score of 19. Inspectors identified two critical violations at this Chinese restaurant. The first, like Dunkin, involved cold TCS food held above 41°F. The second critical violation addressed improper cooling of food after cooking or removal from hot holding — a process that requires cooked food to be cooled to 70°F within two hours and then to 41°F or below within the following four hours, per FDA Food Code guidelines. A third cold holding violation was also recorded. Taste of China's grade is currently listed as Z, which is a temporary designation used while the restaurant awaits a posted grade or re-inspection result.

Common Patterns

The most notable pattern from April 2 is straightforward: both restaurants received identical scores and both were cited for cold TCS food temperature violations. This is one of the most frequently cited violation categories in New York City restaurant inspections, and it cuts across cuisine types and establishment formats. One restaurant is a national quick-service chain focused on coffee and baked goods; the other is a neighborhood Chinese restaurant. Despite those differences, the shared violation points to temperature control as a consistent pressure point for food service operations.

Cold holding violations occur when refrigeration equipment malfunctions, when food sits out during prep or service longer than permitted, or when proper monitoring is not in place. Neither citation automatically indicates a systemic failure, but both require correction before the next inspection.

Taste of China's additional cooling violation is worth noting separately. Improper cooling of cooked food is a higher-risk category because it creates conditions for bacterial growth in food that diners may assume is safe. The FDA Food Code's two-stage cooling requirement exists specifically to address this window of vulnerability.

Both restaurants are located in Staten Island, though in different parts of the borough — Richmond Avenue in the center of the island, and Guyon Avenue in the Eltingville neighborhood to the south.

What This Means for Diners

A Grade B does not mean a restaurant is unsafe to visit. It means inspectors identified violations that need to be corrected but did not find conditions that posed an immediate public health hazard — which would trigger a different enforcement response, including potential closure orders.

Under the NYC letter grading system, restaurants scoring in the Grade B range are required to correct cited violations and will receive a follow-up inspection. The grade card posted at the entrance reflects the most recent completed inspection cycle. Diners can look up any restaurant's full inspection history, including individual violation descriptions and scores, through the NYC Health Department's restaurant search tool at the city's official website.

For the two restaurants inspected on April 2, the Pending and Z grade designations signal that final grade cards have not yet been posted. Once re-inspections are completed, those grades will be updated.

Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades

New York City has required restaurants to post letter grades since 2010. The grading scale is based on the total points accumulated during an unannounced inspection:

• Grade A: 0 to 13 points. The restaurant is in good standing with few or no violations.
• Grade B: 14 to 27 points. Violations were found and need to be corrected, but no immediate health hazard was present.
• Grade C: 28 or more points. More significant violations were documented.

Each violation is assigned a point value based on its severity. Critical violations, such as temperature abuse or contaminated food contact surfaces, carry higher point values than general violations. A single critical violation can account for a large portion of a restaurant's total score.

Restaurants that receive a B or C on their initial inspection are re-inspected within 30 to 45 days. If they score in the Grade A range on re-inspection, an A is posted. If they score B or C again, the restaurant can request an administrative tribunal hearing before a grade is posted.

Diners seeking to check current grades or read full inspection reports for any NYC restaurant can do so through the NYC Health Department's online inspection database.