King Buffet aces follow-up inspection

King Buffet aced its follow-up health inspection Thursday, scoring a 98 on a scale of 100.

Heath officer Joe Russell said the establishment, 130 W. Idaho St., in Kalispell fixed the problems.

"They are doing a good job of getting into compliance," Russell said. "They're doing some nice things."

He said the restaurant owner and staff knew that another visit was planned. But they didn't know the day or time of the most recent inspection.

Cory Mikita, an inspector-in-training, said the temperature problems at the buffet table were corrected. Also, the dishwasher, which had broken down on the last visit, was repaired.

Mikita said all the food was correctly labeled and in compliance with health regulations.

"They really had cleaned up the kitchen," Mikita said.

Russell said that the staff came as close to scoring 100 as they probably could, given the age of the facility.

"There were no criticals at all," he said.

Russell also said no evidence of rodents has been seen since the first inspection several weeks ago.

He said the Zhengs have been good partners in correcting the problems. Several weeks ago, the restaurant scored in the 60s.

"They've done a lot to make that establishment low risk for food-borne illness," Russell said.

Mikita said he planned to continue checking on the restaurant.