9 restaurants, food trucks, others in Tri-Cities area fail food safety inspections

Annette Cary
·7 min read

The Benton Franklin Health District gave nine failing grades for food safety inspections of restaurants and other establishments selling food in the Tri-Cities area from Feb. 3-9.

A Pasco food truck was ordered closed because workers were washing their hands with soap and water using a bucket, but the issue was quickly resolved and it reopened.

The health district’s food safety team gave passing grades on 50 inspections, with 18 of those awarded perfect scores.

In the district’s routine inspections, businesses or organizations that receive at least 35 points for the more serious red violations are required to have additional inspections and must meet a tougher standard on those.

To pass followup inspections, they must have fewer than 25 red points and fewer than 10 repeat red points for previous issues.

Scores of 85 or more red points result in establishments remaining on probation until they pass two follow-up inspections, the first one within 72 hours.

Red violations are those most likely to cause food-borne illnesses, such as improper temperature control of food, lack of adequate handwashing or bare-hand contact with foods.

Blue violations are low risk factors related to the cleanliness and physical condition of an establishment.

No notice is given before the inspections.

Businesses may have separate inspections of business lines with different health safety risks, such as grocery sales and a deli that prepares food.

Inspection results are posted online so residents can look up the status and the details of any violations of individual restaurants or check other businesses.

Go to bit.ly/BFHDinspections. Click on the business name and then on the date of the inspection on the right half of the next page. Look for the “Violations” tab.

Failed inspections

Casa Blanca (Mobile), Event, Routine Feb. 9 (50 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Lack of active managerial control (no certified food protection manager on staff), room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control, improper cold holding (>45°F), lack of conformance with approved procedures.

El Charrito, 130 N. 10th Ave., Pasco, Routine Feb. 6 (50 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods (worker added lettuce and tomatoes to a plate with bare hands), room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control.

Mas Taco, (Food truck), Follow-up Feb. 6 (40 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Lack of active managerial control (no certified food protection manager on staff), improper cooling procedures, lack of conformance with approved procedures.

Mr. Qwik’s Country, 13101 N. Glade Road, Eltopia, Routine Feb. 6 (35 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Improper cooling procedures, lack of conformance with approved procedures. (10 points)

Pie Sharks (Food service), 10 E. Bruneau Ave., Kennewick, Routine Feb. 9 (40 Red, 5 Blue)

Notes: Lack of active managerial control (certification not available on site), food worker cards not 100%, room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control, accurate thermometer not provided or used.

Round Table Pizza, 1435 George Washington Way, Richland, Routine Feb. 7 (35 Red, 7 Blue)

Notes: Not properly disposing of potentially unsafe food (containers of ham marked for 20 day use, not seven days), room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control.

Saap Lao Thai Kitchen, 4525 Road 68, Pasco, Routine Feb. 6 (75 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Lack of active managerial control (too many red points), food worker cards not 100%, food obtained from unapproved source (jerky made at home), improper raw meat handling procedures (slice of raw meat placed in pan of cooked meat during lunch rush), room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control, variance not obtained for specialized processing methods (making and packaging jerky).

Taqueria 3 Pueblos, (Pasco food truck) Routine Feb. 6 (70 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Improper hand washing and inadequate handwashing facilities, bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods (worker not wearing gloves garnished taco with onion and cilantro), lack of conformance with approved procedures. Food truck was ordered closed because there was no warm running water and workers were washing their hands using a bucket with water and soap. The issue was quickly resolved and the food truck reopened, according to the health district.

Tacos Mi Ilucion (Food truck), Event, Routine Feb. 8 (60 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Improper cooling procedures, room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control, lack of conformance with approved procedures.

Passed inspections

Amistad Elementary School, 930 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick, Routine Feb. 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Angel’s Cafe, 2532 N. Fourth Ave., Pasco, Routine Feb. 6 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Barbara McClintock STEM Elementary School, 5706 N. Road 60, Pasco, Routine Feb. 9 (0 Red, 13 Blue)

Carniceria 3 Pueblos (Commissary), 2446 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Routine Feb. 5 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Chiawana High School, 8125 W. Argent Road, Pasco, Routine Feb. 8 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

Coffee Town Espresso, 4298 Van Giesen St., West Richland, Routine Feb. 5 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

Columbia Point Cafe, 225 Columbia Point Drive, Richland, Routine Feb. 8 (15 Red, 10 Blue)

Daisy Ranch Saloon, Event, Routine Feb. 6 (20 Red, 5 Blue)

Eating Gluten Free Bakery, 2746 Battelle Blvd., Richland, Routine Feb. 7 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Firehouse Subs, 2607 Kingsgate Way, Richland, Routine Feb. 7 (15 Red, 0 Blue)

Headstart/Sunset Ridge, 6215 Burden Blvd., Pasco, Routine Feb. 8 (0 Red, 2 Blue)

Hilton Home 2 Suites Hotel, 2861 Lincoln Landing Richland, Routine Feb. 8 (15 Red, 0 Blue)

Horn Rapids Golf Course, 2800 Clubhouse Lane, Richland, Follow-up Feb. 7 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

Jack In The Box, 49 Columbia Point Drive, Richland, Routine Feb. 7 (0 Red, 5 Blue)

Jack In The Box, 49 Columbia Point Dr Richland, Follow-up Feb. 7 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Jacksons, 2607 Kingsgate Way, Richland, Routine Feb. 7 ( 15 Red, 0 Blue)

James McGee Elementary School, 4601 N. Horizon Drive, Pasco, Routine Feb. 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Jammin’ Java, 101 Merlot Drive, Prosser, Routine Feb. 6 (20 Red, 0 Blue)

John Mcloughlin Middle School, 2803 Road 88, Pasco, Routine Feb. 6 (5 Red, 11 Blue)

KFC/A&W, 2750 Duportail St., Richland, Routine Feb. 8 (0 Red, 8 Blue)

Kingspoint Christian School, 7900 W. Court St., Pasco, Routine Feb. 8 (0 Red, 6 Blue)

La Tia, Event, Routine Feb. 6 (25 Red, 5 Blue)

Legacy High School, 4624 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick, Routine Feb. 9 (0 Red, 5 Blue)

Mark Twain Elementary School, 1801 Road 40, Pasco, Routine Feb. 6 (0 Red, 5 Blue)

Max Mart, 1400 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick, Routine Feb. 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Metro Mart, 1 Eagle Crest Drive, Connell, Routine Feb. 6 (20 Red, 0 Blue)

Miss Tamale, PNNL, 3300 Stevens Drive, Richland, Follow-up Feb. 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Old Timers Pork Rinds, 212 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Routine Feb. 5 (0 Red, 0 Blue) (Demonstrator 0 Red, 0 Blue)

Papa Murphy’s Pizza, 2624 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Routine Feb. 5 (15 Red, 0 Blue)

Pizza Hut, 1902 George Washington Way, Richland, Routine Feb. 7 (5 Red, 6 Blue)

Porter’s Real Barbecue Production (Caterer), 1851 Terminal Drive, Richland, Routine Feb. 8 (0 Red, 5 Blue)

Prosser Food Mart, 1303 Wine Country Road, Prosser, Routine Feb. 6 (30 Red, 0 Blue) (Store 0 Red, 0 Blue)

Rosalind Franklin STEM Elementary School, 6010 Road 52, Pasco, Routine Feb. 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Ruth Livingston Elementary School, 2515 Road 84, Pasco, Routine Feb. 6 (0 Red, 7 Blue)

Sabor Mix American & Mexican Food, 1219 Meade Ave., Prosser, Routine Feb. 6 (5 Red, 8 Blue)

Stacks Mobile Bistro (Mobile), Event, Routine Feb. 5 (30 Red, 0 Blue)

Starbucks, 1745 George Washington Way, Richland, Routine Feb. 8 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Sterling’s, 2500 Queensgate Drive, Richland, Routine Feb. 8 (20 Red, 0 Blue)

Subway, 641 S. Columbia Ave., Connell, Routine Feb. 6 (0 Red, 2 Blue)

Subway, 2215 W. Hillsboro St., Pasco, Routine Feb. 8 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Taco La Herradura, 647 S. Columbia Ave., Connell, Routine Feb. 6 (5 Red, 0 Blue)

Tacos La Esperanza (Mobile), Event, Routine Feb. 6 (30 Red, 0 Blue)

Tacos Super Uno, 2417 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Follow-up Feb. 5 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Tacos Super Uno, Event, Routine Feb. 9 (25 Red, 5 Blue)

The Bistro at Grace Kitchen, 112 N. 2nd Ave., Pasco, Routine Feb. 6 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Three Rivers Elementary, 3901 Road 84, Pasco, Routine Feb. 8 (25 Red, 5 Blue)

Total Stop (Store), 813 W. Columbia Drive, Kennewick, Follow-up Feb. 5 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Tsunami Catering (Commissary), 5215 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick, Routine Feb. 5 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Wild Olive’s Charcuterie Kingdom, 3306 N. Swallow Ave., Pasco, Routine Feb. 8 (15 Red, 0 Blue)