New Braunfels, TX Public Health Rules: Restaurant Grade Cards (2026)

Sec. 62-121 assigns every food establishment a risk category at initial permitting based on past compliance history, complaint history, food-borne illness reports, the type of operation, and whether it serves a highly susceptible population. Type 1 establishments are inspected at least once a year, Type 2 at least twice, Type 3 at least three times, and Type 4 (reserved for an escalated Type 3) at least four times a year. A restaurant's risk category increases if it scores 74 or below on two consecutive routine inspections within 12 months, has two valid priority-item complaints investigated in a year, or has two confirmed food-borne illness cases in a calendar year; it can appeal that increase in writing to the neighborhood services manager within 14 days.

Any establishment receiving 31 or more demerits on an inspection is deemed a failing inspection and must be reinspected for a fee set in Appendix D. Sec. 62-119 layers on a harder consequence: if a food establishment earns a score below 60 on three inspections within an 18-month period, the local health authority suspends its permit for two days, and the establishment cannot reopen until a reinspection produces a score of 75 or greater. The most recent inspection report must be posted where it is directly visible to customers, and it cannot be defaced or removed except by the establishment or the local health authority for the purpose of posting an updated copy.