CityInspection frequency
Most US cities inspect food establishments one to three times per year. The exact frequency usually depends on risk: a full-service restaurant preparing raw ingredients gets inspected more often than a convenience store selling only prepackaged food. Establishments with recent critical violations are typically visited more frequently until they demonstrate sustained compliance.
New establishments generally receive an initial inspection before or shortly after opening, and a change of ownership usually triggers another visit.
Inspections are unannounced
Routine inspections are almost always unannounced — the point is to see the kitchen as it operates on a normal day, not a prepared one. An inspector will walk the kitchen, storage areas and dishwashing stations, take food temperatures, watch employee handwashing, check sanitizer concentrations and review pest-control records.
Types of inspections you'll see in the records
CityGrade shows the inspection type where the city publishes it. The common ones are: routine (the scheduled, unannounced full inspection), re-inspection (a follow-up to verify earlier violations were fixed), complaint (triggered by a customer or employee report), and pre-opening or permitting inspections for new establishments.
A re-inspection with a much better score is a good sign — it means the establishment took the earlier findings seriously.
What happens after violations
Minor violations usually come with a correction deadline. Critical violations often must be fixed on the spot — discarding unsafe food, for example. Establishments that fail to correct serious problems face re-inspection, fines, permit suspension, or in extreme cases an order to close until conditions are safe.
All of this activity appears in the public record: dates, scores, results and the individual violations. That record is what CityGrade republishes, city by city, from official open-data portals.
How to use this as a diner
Search any establishment on CityGrade and read its inspection history rather than any single grade. Frequent routine inspections with consistent A grades indicate a well-run kitchen. A cluster of complaint inspections or repeated critical violations is a warning sign — even if the most recent visit went fine.