Expired salsa, workers without hairnets: Latest KC-area restaurant inspections
Between month-old expired food and buildup inside a soda machine, health inspectors in Missouri found numerous violations at Kansas City-area restaurants last week.
Dining spots like sit-down restaurants, drive-thrus, gas stations and grocery stores are required to get food inspections, and governments have to release those inspections to the public.
In Kansas City and Independence, each city’s health department enforces the food code while in Kansas, the state’s Department of Agriculture handles inspections. The lower the number of violations, the better.
Most restaurants correct violations at the time of the original inspection or shortly after. The full inspections show how each establishment has corrected or is working to correct any remaining violations. They are available for Kansas City at inspectionsonline.us/foodsafety/mousakansascity/search.htm and Johnson and Wyandotte counties at agriculture.ks.gov.
Here are the restaurants in Kansas City that received seven or more critical violations from July 6 ton 12. No restaurants from Wyandotte County or Johnson County met that threshold during the period.
Mexico Lindo KC
- 1046 W. 103rd St.
- Seven critical violations during a July 7 inspection
Some buildup was seen in the ice machine. A dented can of olives was seen on a storage shelf, which was later removed.
KC Smoke Burger
- 1610 W. 39th St.
- Seven critical violations during a July 7 inspection
A box of raw chicken was seen sitting on the floor in the prep area. Dirty rags were also found on the floor of the prep area. Two employees handled food without hair restraints.
Employees also moved from one work station to the next without washing hands and changing gloves. There was a build up of ice inside a self-serve soda machine in the dining room.
Barrio Mexican Kitchen + Bar
- 4125 N Mulberry Drive
- Seven critical violations found during a July 8 inspection
There was a backup at the side floor drain near the three-compartment sink during a test A grease build up was seen on the sides and in between the fryers and stove. There was debris underneath an ice machine, and a dust on the ceiling vent and tiles above the main server station.
There were no dates marked on lettuce, pico de gallo, cooked black beans or prepped veggie mix seen in the walk-in cooler. The person in charge said all the items were cooked and prepped July 7, and they placed date markers on the containers.
Three violations must be fixed by Oct. 6.
Granite City Food & Brewery
- 8461 NW Prairie View Road
- Seven critical violations found during a July 8 inspection
Gravy, mac and cheese, cooked beans, pot roast, brisket, rice, pilaf and three containers of cooked noodles were in a cooler without a marking date. This was a repeat violation.
Bar drain plugs were not holding water without aid of plastic disposable gloves. There was buildup on a can opener blade, which was a repeat violation.
Tapatio Mexican Grill
- 6151 NW Barry Road
- 13 critical violations found during a July 8 inspection
Buildup was seen inside and on the front of a microwave. A container of salsa had the date “6/6/26” on it. Prepped onions, peppers and pico de gallo were seen without date markings. An employee later added the dates.
There was buildup on the wall underneath the chlorine dish machine, as well as dust on the ceiling vents inside the men’s and women’s restrooms. The city wants this fixed by Oct. 6.
Which Kansas City restaurants got suspended?
Two Kansas City establishments were suspended.
One of them was Qdoba Mexican Eats, 5255 N. Antioch Road, for a fire emergency. The inspection date was July 6. The Mexican fast-food joint confirmed that they reopened July 7.
The second was for Go Mart, a market at 4632 Paseo Blvd. It received an inactivity suspension July 6.
