COVINGTON, Ga. — Health inspectors shut down a popular fast-food restaurant for too many failures within a year.

It’s the Krystal located on Highway 278, right off I-20 in Covington.

Channel 2′s investigative reporter Sophia Choi was at the restaurant and learned that the restaurant can be cited if it opens without clearing a new inspection.

Workers were seen busy inside the restaurant not serving customers but cleaning up.

The restaurant, known for its Krystal sliders is temporarily closed. It failed with a 50 on its latest inspection on Feb. 23.

“I love Krystal, but I won’t eat here,” customer Theresa Ramey said.

The restaurant’s website says Krystal got its name because the original owners were sticklers about being “clean as a crystal”.

But this location has had four health inspection failures since June. The latest violations included black mold-like substances on the baffle of the ice machine, missing and dirty ceiling tiles, and the manager’s lack of knowledge.

The inspection report says the person in charge was not able to identify common food allergies or food diseases.

It’s hard to believe they failed four times,” customer Tony Harris said.

The inspection report gave a March 5 deadline for the restaurant to get it together.

Krystal sent a statement saying in part:

“We have brought in new senior leadership… we have deployed a crew to address any deficiencies and will reopen as soon as the location meets our own rigorous standards.”

©2023 Cox Media Group