Owners of China Inn Haverhill thank loyal customers after food hygiene rating rises to four from zero

The owners of a Chinese takeaway in a Suffolk town have thanked their 'loyal' customers after they turned things around to raise their food hygiene rating from zero to four.

China Inn in Haverhill, owned by Xunsheng Zhou, was handed the rating of zero after an inspection in December found major improvement was necessary in the cleanliness and condition of facilities and building and urgent improvement was needed in the management of food safety.

Helen Zhou, who works at the Station Road restaurant, said this was in part because they did not have enough space in the kitchen and were washing up in the back yard at the time of the inspection.

She said: "They told us very seriously that we needed to get the work done and close it off [the cleaning area], so as soon as we got that done we got a re-inspection where we were given a rating of four.

"It was really disappointing and we really wanted to get the rating back for our customers. Hygiene ratings are very important to us and the customers, so it was really important to us to make the changes."

Mz Zhou explained that the lack of space was due to the restaurant offering a popular take away service, which took off during lockdown.

She said that building work is now complete, with the new washing up space that is fully contained.

She added that business was 'mixed' while the restaurant had a zero rating, but said that loyal customers returned.

"Some customers did keep coming back while we had the low rating, but some were waiting for us to get our rating up," she said.

"We have been open in Haverhill for over 20 years now, and we would just like to thank all of the customers we've served over that time for their support."

The restaurant is offering a discount code for orders made online or by phone. Just say "Thanks5Off" for a minimum order of £25 or "Thanks10Off" for a minimum order of £40.

This is valid until March 9 and excludes Friday to Saturday.