CityThe short version
A health inspection grade summarizes how an establishment performed against its local health code on the day of inspection. An A means the inspector found no significant problems. A B means minor issues that were not immediate health threats. A C means significant violations that need correction. An F (or a failed/closed result) means critical violations — conditions that could directly cause foodborne illness.
How inspectors build the score
Health codes divide violations into categories. Critical (or “priority”) violations are the ones that can make people sick: food held at unsafe temperatures, sick employees handling food, contaminated water, pests, or cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat food. Non-critical violations cover things like worn flooring, missing paperwork or unlabeled containers.
Many cities start an establishment at 100 points and deduct for each violation, with critical violations costing the most. Others count demerits upward. Either way, the pattern is the same: a small number of critical violations can sink a score, while many minor ones may only dent it.
Why grades differ between cities
There is no national grading standard. New York City posts letter grades in the window. Louisville publishes numeric scores out of 100. Houston counts demerits where lower is better. Detroit reports whether an establishment was “in compliance.” Each system is measuring the same underlying thing — food safety — with different scales.
That is why CityGrade normalizes every city's results onto a single A–F scale, using a published, city-specific rule for each. Where we derive a letter from a numeric score, the page says so explicitly.
Is a B restaurant safe to eat at?
Generally, yes. A B typically reflects minor or already-corrected issues. What deserves your attention is the pattern: an establishment that bounces between A and C, or one whose most recent inspection found critical violations like temperature abuse or pest activity. The violation list on each CityGrade detail page tells you exactly what the inspector found — read it rather than relying on the letter alone.
What a bad grade does — and doesn't — mean
A single low inspection is a snapshot, not a verdict. Establishments can fix problems and score an A a month later. Conversely, an A earned last year says little about today's kitchen. Always check the inspection date next to the grade, and look at the full history for the trend.
If an establishment is ordered closed, that appears in the record too — closures are the strongest signal a health department sends.