Washington state law prohibits Flight Tap & Table in Richland from serving alcohol while its food permit is suspended.
Its license issued by the Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board was tied to it being a restaurant , but its food permit was suspended earlier this month.
Court records also show one of the owners is facing a default judgment in a lawsuit over another business.
The restaurant and bar failed its routine food safety inspection by the Benton Franklin Health District in March with a score of 135 of the more serious red points. A passing grade is fewer than 35 red points.
Then it failed to pass stricter follow-up inspections March 19, May 2, May 31 and July 12.
The fourth failure resulted in the suspension of its food permit.
Its liquor license was issued for a restaurant with a lounge required it to serve meals, and not just snacks, prepared on site, and for the business to be maintained as a place for preparing, cooking and serving meals with a chef or cook on duty.
An official with the state liquor board stopped by the business after its food permit was suspended and found it closed at that time, according to a spokesperson for the board.
Officials contacted the owner of Flight Tap & Table to let them know that serving alcohol, and not selling food, would be a violation of the business’s liquor license.
To end the suspension of its health district food permit, it must have an in-depth conversation at the district office to delve into the source of its food safety issues.
The health district said Monday that the owners of Flight Tap & Table had contacted the health district but had not moved toward reinstatement of its food permit.
Joey Casados and his wife, Amanda Thavone, opened Flight Tap & Table in January 2022 at 502 Swift Blvd., the former home to the Dupus Boomer’s restaurant. That restaurant closed in late 2017 after a little over a year in business.
Casados was the co-owner of TeaHaus shops in Richland on Swift Boulevard and in Kennewick at 5331 W. Canal Drive, both of them now closed . They sold tea products ranging from boba tea and smoothies to blended teas.
He faces a default judgment in Benton County Superior Court over the Kennewick TeaHaus , which opened in 2022 and was closed by early 2023.
Canal Village sued Teahaus and Casados in March 2023, saying it was in breach of its lease for the Kennewick location. The second owner of Teahaus, Pauline Vongsikhay, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and was dismissed from the case.
It owed $33,000 in rent, plus interest, and nearly $5,000 in operating costs and had failed to maintain and pay utilities, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also asks for more than $363,000 in building improvements for Teahaus.
The Tri-City Herald was unable to reach Casados about reopening the Flight Tap & Table
According to the Flight Tap & Table website, a second restaurant was planned in Seattle but the status of that is unclear.
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