New York City letter-grade system begins (2010)
New York City began posting A, B, or C letter grades in restaurant windows, calculated from demerit scores in health inspections. Restaurants with the worst scores could be closed on the spot.
Restaurants invested heavily in pest control and food storage to avoid the stigma of a B or C grade; the share of A-graded restaurants rose sharply.
Health inspection results became a public, market-facing score that directly affected customer traffic and revenue.
Pellegrini Pizza faces the same mechanism: an inspection record with demerits becomes public and can close the business, turning a routine health check into a survival test.
