Pancho & Lefty’s authorized to reopen after passing follow-up inspection

Hawai‘i Department of Health Food Safety Branch authorized the reopening of a downtown Kailua-Kona eatery after being forced to immediately shutter last week following a failed food safety inspection that revealed multiple food safety violations, including dead and live cockroaches on food-contact surfaces and in ready-to-eat food.

Pancho & Lefty’s Cantina & Restaurante — located at 75-5725 Aliʻi Drive and operated by Kailua-Kona Restaurants Inc. — was issued a green “pass” placard and allowed to reopen Aug. 12 after a follow-up inspection found the restaurant satisfactorily completed several mandatory corrective actions.

Required corrective actions were:

• Discard all contaminated food products.
• Have a professional pest control operator perform service and submit the service report to the state Health Department.
• Complete a deep clean and disinfection of all food- and non-food contact surfaces.
• Retrain employees on proper food storage requirements.
• Ensure all handwashing stations are unobstructed and equipped with disposable towels.
• Ensure at least one employee with a valid Safe Food Handler certificate is on duty during operational hours.

Pancho & Lefty’s received a red “closed” placard Aug. 7 and was immediately closed following a routine inspection after a state Health Department inspector observed several critical violations.

Including the cockroach problem, the inspector also saw unclean facilities and utensils, possible cross-contamination of refrigerated foods, an obstructed handwashing sink with no disposable towels and the lack of a certified Safe Food Handler at the eatery during hours of operation.

Hawai‘i Department of Health Food Safety Branch conducts routine health inspections of food establishments. It also investigates sources of foodborne illnesses and potential adulteration, as well as being responsible for mitigating the effects of these incidents. Visit the Food Safety Branch website for additional information about the state Health Department’s placarding program. You can also find restaurant inspection reports here.