Queens, NY — Wingstop, located at 126-14 Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens, received a score of 29 following a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) inspection conducted on February 9, 2026. The score places the restaurant in Grade C territory, the lowest grade in the city's restaurant grading system. Inspectors documented one critical violation related to the sanitization of food contact surfaces.

The inspection data was released by DOHMH on February 13, 2026.

What Inspectors Found

During the inspection, DOHMH inspectors cited one critical violation under code 06D: food contact surfaces were not properly washed, rinsed, and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Food contact surfaces include any equipment, countertops, utensils, or preparation areas that come into direct contact with food during storage, preparation, or serving. When these surfaces are not properly cleaned and sanitized between uses, they can become vectors for cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods, potentially allowing the transfer of harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria.

Proper sanitization of food contact surfaces requires a three-step process: washing with soap and water to remove visible debris, rinsing with clean water, and sanitizing with an approved chemical solution or hot water at the correct temperature. This process must be repeated after each use, between handling different food items, and any time contamination may have occurred.

No non-critical violations were noted during the inspection.

Food Safety Context

The sanitization of food contact surfaces is a fundamental requirement under both NYC Health Code Article 81 and the FDA Food Code, which serves as the model for local food safety regulations nationwide. These regulations require that all food contact surfaces be cleaned and sanitized at appropriate intervals to prevent the accumulation of bacteria and other pathogens.

Under New York City's inspection framework, a violation of code 06D is classified as critical because of the direct relationship between improperly sanitized surfaces and the risk of foodborne illness. Critical violations are those that, if left uncorrected, are most likely to contribute to food contamination or illness.

The FDA Food Code specifies that food contact surfaces must be sanitized using approved methods, which include immersion in hot water at 171°F or higher for at least 30 seconds, or the application of chemical sanitizing solutions at the proper concentration. The code also requires that surfaces be cleaned and sanitized between uses when switching from raw to ready-to-eat foods, and at minimum every four hours during continuous use.

Restaurants cited for critical violations during a DOHMH inspection are expected to correct the conditions promptly. Depending on the severity and the establishment's compliance history, DOHMH may schedule a re-inspection to verify that corrective actions have been taken.

Inspection History

No prior inspection history is available for this location in the DOHMH public database. The February 9, 2026 inspection represents the first recorded inspection for this establishment in the current dataset.

Without prior inspection data, there is no baseline to compare the restaurant's current performance against its historical compliance record. Future inspections will provide additional context about the establishment's ongoing adherence to food safety standards.

Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades

New York City's restaurant grading system, administered by DOHMH, assigns letter grades based on the total number of violation points documented during an inspection. Each violation carries a specific point value, with critical violations generally carrying higher point values than non-critical ones.

The grading scale is as follows:

  • Grade A: 0 to 13 points
  • Grade B: 14 to 27 points
  • Grade C: 28 or more points

With a score of 29, this Wingstop location falls into the Grade C range. Restaurants that receive a Grade B or C on an initial inspection may request a re-inspection. If the score does not improve on re-inspection, the grade is posted, and the restaurant may contest the results through an administrative hearing at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).

All New York City restaurant inspection results are public record and can be accessed through the DOHMH restaurant inspection database. Consumers can search by restaurant name, address, or borough to review detailed inspection reports, violation histories, and current grades. The data is also available through the NYC Open Data portal for broader analysis and research.

More About This Restaurant

View the full inspection history for Wingstop including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.