More cockroaches found at Columbia Center mall restaurants

Health inspectors found cockroaches at seven of 14 eateries it inspected at the Columbia Center mall in Kennewick this week.

However, only Bruchi’s CheeseSteaks and Subs rose to a level of concern that the Benton Franklin Health District requested that it close to address the infestation.

It is expected to have completed pest control and cleaning to reopen on Wednesday, after voluntarily closing on Monday, said Lars Richins, the food safety program supervisor for the health district.

The unscheduled inspections were done on Monday and Tuesday after a visitor to the mall spotted one of the bugs.

Of the seven places where inspectors found cockroaches, just two in addition to Bruchi’s had live cockroaches, Richins said.

Those restaurants each had one live adult cockroach. The remaining four had dead roaches.

Bruchi’s was of concern because both juvenile and adult cockroaches were found, indicating that it had a breeding population.

“We’re not asking anyone else to close at present,” Richins said.

The health district uses the state food code which requires that food establishments be free of infestation with only minimal presence of pests like cockroaches.

Inspectors to return to Bruchi’s

The eateries inspected will receive letters discussing what they can do to prevent problems, with letters also going to those where no cockroaches were found.

Almost all had some deficiency that put them at risk of having an issue with cockroaches, Richins said.

Issues include cracks or crevices where cockroaches can get in; crumbs or other food not cleaned up that cockroaches could feed on; sources of water or lack of a good integrated pest management program.

For those restaurants with only dead bugs, the findings still could indicate a need to establish a more frequent cleaning schedule.

Health district officials will be working with the mall on a comprehensive and coordinated plan for all its eateries.

They also will return in a week or two to see if the measures Bruchi’s has taken are effective, Richins said.

A single cockroach does not present a high risk for people getting sick, but looking for pests is one part of restaurant inspections.

Insects ‘non critical’

Last year a cockroach was discovered in a diner’s meal at a Kennewick buffet.

The health district said then, that while disturbing, single insects are considered “non critical” compared to other issues such as storing food at room temperature, under-cooking meat and not washing hands, which can spread food-borne diseases.

The health district asks that people who see a cockroach at a restaurant report it to the health district, so inspectors can check for the extent of the problem.

There are cockroaches in the Tri-Cities, Richins said, adding, “I don’t think we will ever get rid of them entirely.”

Those and other issues at restaurants can be reported at bit.ly/reportBF under “Food Safety.”

The inspection of mall restaurants this week was launched after a young mother stopped in the food court to buy her son some food and saw a cockroach in a glass display case.

She posted the photos to social media, where they went viral, with more than 1,000 people sharing them and the health district learning of the problem.

This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 6:09 PM.