At press time, Atlanta restaurant and retail blog What Now Atlanta is reporting on a number of Atlanta-area restaurants that are failing Fulton County’s health inspections. While a number of restaurants frequented by students make the list, one stands out: Saxby’s in Library North.

That’s right, the go-to coffee stop for those times when you’re working on a major research project is garnering low health scores from the Fulton County Environmental Health Services Department. Specifically, Saxby’s scored a 64 out of a possible 100.

Since this news is coming out just before we go to press this week, an in-depth news piece on this topic will be in next week’s issue of The Signal.

What we can say, though, is that Saxby’s needs to clean up its act, and fast. Among the reasons listed for Saxby’s low score are mold found on an ice machine and drink nozzles, prepared food not marked with a date of preparation or date for disposal, utensils stored in dirty containers, and an unapproved modification to the facility and the menu. That’s just a portion of the issues observed.

Saxby’s can and should do better. Their last health inspection in June of 2010 had the coffee shop receiving a 99. Because of the shop’s low score, there will be a follow-up review in the near future.

As What Now Atlanta points out, though, routine check-ups like this are not planned, while their follow-ups normally are scheduled in advance. This means, of course, that Saxby’s will know when to have their shop clean, and should (we hope) pass their next inspection.

Really, though, that initial score should stand out more than whatever a follow-up inspection might garner. It’s easy to plan in advance for an inspection. What really matters is that on a regular day, Saxby’s didn’t live up to the standards of a health inspection. What’s to prevent these problems from arising again?

We’ll be working on finding at least some of the answers to these questions this week. It’s up to us, the students and faculty of Georgia State, to make sure that Saxby’s addresses these issues and maintains a level of cleanliness and professional health that meets the standard of acceptability.

We also want your stories. If you have any issues with Saxby’s, let us know. One of the jobs of The Signal is to be a watchdog of sorts for the student body, and we want to hear from you if you’ve had significant issues with Saxby’s.

As for us at The Signal, we’ll be looking for other places to frequent while we’re assembling our issues on campus every weekend.