Raw meat too warm, moldy food: Latest Tri-Cities-area restaurant inspections

The Benton Franklin Health District gave 10 failing grades for food safety inspections at restaurants and other establishments selling food in the Tri-Cities area April 4-10.

The health district’s food safety team gave passing marks on 24 inspections, with 10 of those earning 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 follow-up 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 not keeping hot food hot enough or cold food cold enough, inadequate handwashing, bare-hand contact with foods or refrigerating meat in a way that could contaminate other food.

Blue violations are low risk factors related to the cleanliness and physical condition of a business.

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, with one business line passing and another failing.

Information about passed and failed inspections includes only licensed establishments. The health district also responds to complaints of unlicensed pop-up food vendors in Benton and Franklin counties.

To see more inspection results or details of the past week’s inspections, go to inspections.myhealthdepartment.com/bfhd.

For questions or complaints about food safety in Benton or Franklin counties, email contactusfoodsafety@BFHD.WA.GOV.

Food customers may take a survey at bit.ly/FoodSafetyConsumerSurvey, and owners and employees of food establishments may take a survey at bit.ly/FoodSafetyIndustrySurvey.

Failed inspections

Connell Food & Gas Mart, 457 S. Columbia Ave., Connell, Routine April 9 (50 Red, 8 Blue) Notes: Food not obtained from approved source (baked goods came from an inspected kitchen, but it lacked a wholesale permit); hot holding temperatures <135°F (some food in hot holding as cool as 103° — voluntarily discarded); lack of conformance with approved procedures.

Eastside Brothers, 1303 E. Lewis St., Pasco, Routine April 9 (60 Red, 0 Blue) Notes: Lack of conformance with approved procedures; lack of proper consumer advisory for raw foods (raw sushi on menu lacked complete consumer advisory and raw sushi will no longer be sold); food not in good condition (moldy commercially processed fresh garlic); improper shellstock information (no record of parasite destruction for raw sushi fish); raw meats not separated from ready-to-eat food (juices from raw shrimp falling on cream cheese and cucumber, which were discarded); improper use of non-continuous cooking.

Explosion de Sabor, 251 N. Columbia Ave., Connell, Routine April 8 (70 Red, 10 Blue) Notes: Lack of active managerial control; hands not washed as required (food worker put on gloves without washing hands first); raw eggs not stored away from ready-to-eat food; cold holding temperatures >45°F (ceviche, opened can of evaporated milk and strawberry water with milk as warm as 54°); inadequate date marking system (items in prep cooler and refrigerator without dates).

Extreme Blendz/Kia Ora, 2008 N. Pittsburgh St., Kennewick, Routine April 7 (45 Red, 0 Blue) Notes: Hands not washed as required (staff did not wash hands before putting on gloves to make a smoothie); potentially unsafe food not disposed (milk container without date of opening); lack of conformance with approved procedures.

Kim’s Market, 1909 W. Court St., Pasco, Follow-up April 8 (40 Red, 0 Blue) Notes: Raw meats not stored away from ready-to-eat food; hot holding temperatures <135°F (the door to hot holding case was open and chicken strips, mini tacos and burritos and chicken sandwich were 98°); improper cold holding temperatures (some yogurt and cheese sticks were too warm).

McDonald’s, 2751 Queensgate Dr., Richland, Routine April 8 (50 Red, 0 Blue) Notes: Bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods (employee bagging french fries let fries touch his bare hand); improper use of time as a temperature control (tubs of shredded lettuce discarded).

Pit Stop Mini Mart, 6193 W. Van Giesen St., West Richland, Follow-up April 6 (10 Red, 5 Blue) Notes: Inadequate handwashing facilities (handwashing sink blocked by two cans and a large drip tray stored inside).

Somer Bakery (Food service), 5601 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick, Follow-up April 9 (10 Red, 10 Blue) Notes: Cold holding temperatures >45°F (marinated raw beef, soft shredded cheese and tomato sauce voluntarily discarded).

Ty’s Bar & Grill, 3880 W. Van Giesen St., West Richland, Routine April 6 (40 Red, 0 Blue) Notes: Food worker cards not 100%; not disposing of potentially unsafe food (sliced roast beef and cooked bacon opened more than seven days ago); lack of conformance with approved procedures; adequate thermometer not available; toxic substances not properly identified (unlabeled dish soap in squeeze bottles).

Yoke’s Fresh Market (Deli), 1410 W. 27th Ave., Kennewick, Routine April 9 (55 Red, 0 Blue) Notes: Improper cooling procedures; lack of adequate managerial control; improper cooking time (chicken pieces not cooked to 165°F).

Passed inspections

Angel Brook Ice Cream, 6120 Burden Blvd., Pasco, Routine April 9 (0 Red, 5 Blue)

Aunty Jam’s Asian Kitchen, 6120 Burden Blvd., Pasco, Follow-up April 9 (5 Red, 0 Blue)

The B Spot, 2315 Bombing Range Road, West Richland, Routine April 6 (5 Red, 0 Blue)

Botanas Culichi, 325 E. Columbia Gardens Way, Kennewick, Routine April 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Burns Korners, 10002 Burns Road, Pasco, Routine April 4 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

Dutch Bros, 731 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick, Routine April 7 (10 Red, 7 Blue)

Family Fresh Sushi, 1410 W. 27th Ave., Kennewick, Routine April 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Gangnam Style Korean BBQ, 7903 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick, Follow-up April 7 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

Golf Universe Lounge, 3700 W. Canyon Lakes Drive, Kennewick, Routine April 9 (20 Red, 0 Blue)

Helados La Michoacana, 402 N. Ely St., Kennewick, Routine April 7 (20 Red, 0 Blue)

Isla Bonita, 1524 Jadwin Ave., Richland, Routine April 9 (10 Red, 5 Blue)

Jersey Mikes Subs, 1659 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick, Follow-up April 7 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

La Bahia Mexican Food, 313 E. Columbia Drive, Kennewick, Routine April 9 (0 Red, 5 Blue)

La Posada Mexican Grill, 3150 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick, Follow-up April 7 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Miss Tamale Columbia Playfield, 1500 Mansfield St., Richland, Routine April 10 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Papa Murphy’s, 1589 Bombing Range Plaza, West Richland, Routine April 6 (5 Red, 0 Blue)

Ricas Pupusas El Salvador, 325 E. Columbia Drive, Kennewick, Follow-up April 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Royal Columbian Retirement, 5615 W. Umatilla Ave., Kennewick, Follow-up April 7 (0 Red, 3 Blue)

Sweet Snack Attack, 804 Sixth St., Prosser, Routine April 4 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Taco La Herradura, 647 S. Columbia Ave., Connell, Routine April 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Tropic Hunger, 5222 W. Okanogan Ave., Kennewick, Routine April 9 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

Yoke’s Fresh Market, 1410 W. 27th Ave., Kennewick, Routine April 9 (Bakery 0 Red, 2 Blue) (Hazard analysis of critical control points 0 Red, 0 Blue) (Meat 0 Red, 0 Blue)

This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 11:08 AM.