Restaurants across Lincoln County will soon be displaying ratings issued by the county’s health department. The new system, based on a similar one in Flathead County, was approved last week by the county’s health board.
Erik Leigh of the Lincoln County Environmental Health Department says the new system will be implemented over the coming months as eateries have annual inspections.
“It’s something we’ve been toying with for a while, because Flathead County and Spokane have similar systems,” he said. “We’ve created a system that is fair to the business owner and informs the public.”
Leigh said the documents produced from an annual inspection can be confusing and misinterpreted. Now the data from those visits will be filtered into a simple A through F grade, just like Flathead County.
One restaurant has already received a rating, but Leigh added that county officials are still trying to work the bugs out of the new system.
Many restaurant owners said they welcome the system and believe it will help business. Shelley Wells, owner of the Koocanusa Café in Rexford, said her establishment hasn’t gotten a rating yet, but she’s looking forward to it.
“I think it’s good that the public can see where their food is coming from,” she said. “If you’re doing what you’re supposed to, then it won’t hurt your business at all.”
Lisa Brown, head server at Yong’s Teriyaki Restaurant and Sushi Bar in Eureka, also said she is not worried about the grades.
“We’ve consistently gotten high marks from the health department and so I think it’ll be good for us,” Brown said. “I’ve noticed the ratings (elsewhere) and you tend to be more at ease when you eat at a place with a good rating.”
Leigh said he wasn’t sure how long it would take to get all of the restaurants rated, especially considering the large territory involved. He also said the county health department plans on creating a website so people can look up the ratings.